Challenge: 50 Books discussion
Finish Line 2012!
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Tiffani Tore Up 2012! (100 books and beyond!)
Naomi wrote: "KUDOS to you for making it to 50!"Wooo! Thanks, Naomi!! :D
51)
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
I have read a few other reviews that say the author has "an agenda" that she "doesn't mind slapping in our faces". To that, I say: pish, posh. Untwist your panties and relax a little. They were all American reviewers flitting on about how she was attacking America and bending the truths quite absurdly. Apparently, they forgot to read the parts were Belgium, France, Portugal (especially Portugal), etc were also called out for their parts. Oh yea..and the part about how this is a work of fiction. (I attribute the misunderstanding to Kingsolver's incredible ability to build real worlds out her text). The novel takes place largely in Africa, through the eyes of girls who were practically raised there - through the words of villagers who live there, etc. So, I don't find the Big Bad First World Country portions to be out-of-place in the slightest. If it were written in any other way, it would seem trivial.
Review here!
5 days later.. I finally finish another book ;)
52)
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Life Laughs by Jenny McCarthy
I wouldn't say that Jenny McCarthy is a particularly talented author but she is a dang funny one. I've never [until now] read a memoir that was so true-to-life, unabashedly even when it made her look bad or less glamorous.
While she crossed every major media taboo about how women should be (pristine, tiny, perfect, never fart, never poop, never be insecure) she made it hilarious, easy to relate to and even managed to offer quite a few bits of good advice.
Page Count: 15,767/25,000
53)
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot
Main character, Heather, is a has-been former mall-touring pop-star whose mega-famous singer fiancee cheated on her with the latest babe on his father's record label. He gave her the boot and she moved in with his devastatingly handsome Private Investigator brother, Cooper. She takes up a job at a local college as an assistant to the dorm director, or something obscure like that. Then one day, a girl is found dead at the bottom of an elevator shaft and it is quickly attributed to a popular movement called "elevator surfing".
I wrote a poorly constructed review here!
54)
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism by Jenny McCarthy
This book is not a clinical research book or some Fix-It Guide. It is meant to open your eyes to the reality of autism, in her own words and only be her own experiences with it. I thought this book was unbelievably tender and loving and real. She left out no ugly parts or details and there is no "Normal" Evan that is magically cured from Evil Autism. He makes a triumphant and rare recovery from being stock in a non-communicative world but still suffers from many stims and complications attributed to his autism.
Full review is over here!
55)
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
January First: A Child's Descent Into Madness And Her Father's Struggle To Save Her by Michael Schofield
Quote from Foreward:
"During one stay in the hospital, while my wife, Susan, and I were visiting our daughter, Jani looked down from her fourth-floor window and said, "I want to jump down."
[...]
"You don't want to do that, " I replied, as calmly as I could. "Come here and play with me and Bodhi". Out of the corner of my eye, I could see she was still looking down.
"I want to die," she said softly."
This story is truly hard to read at times, you can feel a persistent lump in your throat throughout the book's entirety. The story of a father's desperate attempt to save his daughter, starting at age 4, while simultaneously in denial that she may not be able to be rescued.
Full review here.
57)
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Tales from the Bed: A Memoir by Jenifer Estess
Take out all the fluff and there is an inspiring story. A woman and her sisters embarked to raise a company up from nothing and turn it into the foremost (in 2003) research company for ALS (entitled: Project A.L.S.). That part IS inspiring. There was no medicine ready to use on Jenifer before her passing but the change they have brought to the neuroscience studies is incredible. In the future, I believe many people will be saved directly because of their tenacity in assembling the team and project.
Here is the review.
58)
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel
What I liked the most about this memoir was that it was simple. Not in a demeaning way but in a whimsical way. This child was accident-prone, sensitive, bullish, awkward, honest and slightly strange which made her very likable. This is not a tragic story riddle with addiction, abuse, death or sudden epiphanies - it's the story of a relatively normal and happy childhood in a small town. It's refreshing.
Full caffeinated review here
Haven't updated in 5 books:Page Count Update: 17,460/25,000
I'm on vacation and haven't had time to read while we've been playing in the sun this weekend. Since i can't sleep and everyone is passed out, I decided to sneak onto GR and in a classic bookworm move, shelve the books I picked up at a few local used bookstores! Tehe.
59)
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
It took me a little while to decide how I felt about this book. It was good, undoubtedly, but I do not think it came anywhere near the ceiling of its hype.
Ruh-view
61)
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
I read the book in less than a day and the story line was interesting enough. I'm a sucker for a fairy-tale reimagining and this was an exceptionally unique one to read. The characters were engaging and familiar in their former Fairy Tale forms, the story and plot was interesting and one-of-a-kind. The downside of reading YA is that I had the entire plot twist figured out by page 50. Dang it.
Pew, Pew, Pew Review
62)
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Left Neglected by Lisa Genova
Finished a few days ago, mostly loved it. Would definitely recommend it.
Snazzy review here.
64)
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox
Waiting to write reviews for the last 2 books until I have healed from surgery and can use two hands again, haha
i just went on the theme group and was wondering if u finished The Handmaids Tale. i was gonna ask u. i guess u did! lol :) i cant wait to read that book. it wont be in the near future though.
Alison wrote: "i just went on the theme group and was wondering if u finished The Handmaids Tale. i was gonna ask u. i guess u did! lol :) i cant wait to read that book. it wont be in the near future though."Oh yea, just finished it 2 days ago! Whenever you do get a chance to read it, I think you will like it once it all sinks in. It was a very slow start for me but I know I'll be reading it again in the future!
If anyone sees this and has an excellent NON-YA book they could recommend, I would be so grateful! I never really read YA and then took some recs from some people and have been on a mindless kick of pre-teen books. I need some substance to nourish the literary center of my soul! Clearly, this is a level-5 Emergency Book Crisis. ;)
Kristin wrote: "Have you read Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter? One of my favorites this year. Excellent characters."I hadn't heard of it but it's now on my to-read list and I'm going to check for it at the library. Thank you, it looks like a potentially very interesting book!
I always like a nice serious memoir to take me out of that child/teen mindset.I recommend both to read at some point in your life
Ten Thousand Sorrows: The Extraordinary Journey Of a Korean War Orphan by Elizabeth Kim
Ten Thousand Sorrows : The Extraordinary Journey of a Korean War Orphan
and All Over But The Shoutin' by Rick Bragg
All Over But the Shoutin'
Tiffani wrote: "71) 
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes"
How did you like this book? I remember reading it in middle school. I actually took my book home to finish the story because I couldn't wait until class the next day to contine reading it. I loved it that much!
Deborah wrote: "Tiffani wrote: "71)Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes"
How did you like this book? I remember reading it in middle school. I actually took my book home to finis..."
I loved it! I never was exposed to it in school and I didn't even know what it was about until I had the book in my hand for the first time. Couldn't stop reading it, it's wonderfully written and such a compelling story to read!
Alison wrote: "is that your England book??? :)"Flowers for Algernon took place in NY, so I think it might be cheating if I used it for my England book! Haha! I used Daughters of the North as my England book. It's got a semi-similar story line to The Handmaid's Tale; so I think it was a bad idea to read them back-to-back! What's your England book? :)
72)
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Believe it or not, that was my very first exposure to this book.
I almost feel like I have been cheated out of a literature moment by not having read it when I was younger. I didn't relate to the book the same way, didn't appreciate Atticus as much, nor relate to the children as easily.
that book is my all time favorite!!! first classic i ever read. how did you like it??
I really liked it, maybe not as much as I would have if I had been exposed to it 10 years ago but I think it's a wonderful book. I want to re-read it again to really soak it up. There need to be more Atticus Finch figures in the world! ;)
73)
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Must Love Dogs by Claire Cook
I don't know what I was thinking. I saw the title for free from the Prime Library on Amazon and my brain was over-taken by images of the endlessly handsome John Cusack, so I borrowed the book. It was not that great. But the movie is somewhat adorable and wouldn't have existed with the book, so I'll just think about that instead.
74)
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Mom: The Killer by Mark Gado
I wish it had been longer than 90 pages and more in-depth. A terribly sad true crime book about a mother who killed all 9 (YES NINE!) of her children and will be up for parole in January 2013. :C
I was incredibly disappointed, it might as well have been a short news article instead. It wasn't in-depth at all, a mere 2-3 pages was spent on each murdered child from birth to death. I was hoping for more of a real story, history of her childhood, life of the kids, analysis of her.. and it just wasn't there.
75)
★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates
Blech. The narration style drove me nuts and, I know, that is 100% personal opinion. There were dashes of 1st, 2nd and 3rd person narrative. Like someone dumped the storytelling into a blender and spit it back out. Despite the first chapter making it clear that the entire story is supposed to be narrated by the "journalist" youngest son.
77)
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
The Savage Nation by Michael Savage
I forgot to log this book a month ago, oops. Read out loud during a road trip. We had quite the spirited conversations over it!
78)
★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
The Community by Erika Nomeland
Even if someone offered you 50 bucks to read this book, I would still say it would be a waste of a perfectly good afternoon.
80)
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
I think I might just love her now. I haven't laughed so much reading a memoir in quite some time. Review to follow with favorite sections and quotes.
81)
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
I was actually surprised about how much I liked this book.
Tiffani wrote: "80) ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
I think I might just love her now. I haven't laughed so much reading a memoir in q..."
i have to say that the commercials for her TV show are pretty amusing!
Naomi wrote: i have to say that the commercials for her TV show are pretty amusing!I haven't seen any of the commercials yet but I might have to check it out soon! This book was pretty darn funny. I recommend it if you like her humor!
82)
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ - for the truly fascinating and engaging science portion; revolving around the culturing of HeLa cells and the incredible strides that were made in medicine directly because of her cells.
★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ - for the really bad journalistic writing of the author, who inserted herself at every chance she got and really did a pretty poor job of doing Henrietta Lacks and her family justice at telling their story.
Challenge: 50 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Everything Is Wrong with Me: A Memoir of an American Childhood Gone, Well, Wrong (other topics)The Age of Miracles (other topics)
How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets (other topics)
Sleep Demons: An Insomniac's Memoir (other topics)
Epilogue: A Memoir (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Jason Mulgrew (other topics)Karen Thompson Walker (other topics)
Garth Stein (other topics)
Michael Grant (other topics)
Katherine Applegate (other topics)
More...
Good choice, with the Hunger Games series. I really liked it, read the whole trilogy in just about a week on the train commute to and from work. If you're super busy, you should revel in being able to read any books at all, even short essays. So: yay for books! Let me know how you like the first book when you get time to read it :)