21 posts tagged “20 books in 2009 challenge”
Finished Little Women by Louisa May Alcott for the A-Z Challenge (A for Alcott) and this also finishes the 20 books in 2009 challenge.
This book is a hard one to review. I wish I had read it when I was younger, because I think I would've loved it a lot more than I do now.
For one thing, Louisa May Alcott has a lot of opinions and she's not subtle in sharing them. You know how in Wall*E, there's a big message about consumerism and how, if you had a brain stem, you got the message? It's like that.
Louisa May's not a fan of alcohol. Or people who drink alcohol. Or people who have fun. Or people who aren't poor (except for Laurie).
Also, the characters aren't very realistic. I was talking to Jenny on AIM today and we were discussing it and while, yes, Beth is an absolute dose of perfection, Meg, Jo and Amy aren't exactly awful. It's basically three angels and an incarnation of Jesus in one house. (Seriously--much is made of their "faults," but I think anyone would be happy to have even one of those girls as children, but all four? Wow.)
That said, I did enjoy it. There's a lot in the book that wasn't in either of the movie versions I've seen, and it's hard not to like Jo.
And yes, I cried when Beth died.
Finished I Love You, Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle for the Dewey's Books Reading Challenge. (Click here to read Dewey's review.)
This was really funny and full of pop culture references. (Okay, granted, the humor is stupid-funny, but that's not always bad.)
Denis Cooverman has had a crush on Beth Cooper forever, pretty much. And he decides that the best time to tell her this is on graduation day. During his speech (he's the valedictorian). Here's the problem--or problems, because there are several.
She has no idea who he is--she's popular and he's that kid that always gets picked on.
And she's dating a guy in the Army, who decides that it's his job to kill Denis.
Finished Books by Larry McMurtry for the A-Z challenge. (I had actually started this before and was half done, but I finished it today.)
I originally bought it because I like books about books and I thought that it would be an account of what he read and why, and probably a little about his own books.
Turns out he also sells books, so it was mostly about that.
Bit of a letdown.
Finished The Secret Circle (part 2) by L.J. Smith for the A-Z Challenge.
This series (originally three books but now combined into two and re-released) is about a group of teenage witches. It's kind of hard to describe without spoiling anything but it's a really fun set of books.
The back says: "Cassie has joined the most alluring--and deadly--in crowd imaginable. But power comes with a price, and it's more dangerous than she knows. Torn between the dueling desires of the two leaders of the Secret Circle, she must ultimately choose between saving all of New Salem, and her own dangerous love for the bewitching Adam, which threatens to tear the circle apart. In the ultimate battle between good and evil, will Cassie's supernatural powers be strong enough to lead the coven out of danger? Or will she fall prey to the dark forces within?"
I know that makes it sound a little lame, and it's really not.
Finished 3 Willows: The Sisterhood Continues by Ann Brashares for the A-Z Challenge and the numbers challenge.
This is a new book that's sort of connected to the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants--there never was a mention of Carmen, but there are some references to the other three.
Ama, Polly and Jo were best friends when they were little but now that they're older, they've grown apart. Jo got popular, Ama became very focused on school and Polly was just left behind. Over the summer, Polly becomes obsessed with modeling school, Ama gets stuck on some Outward Bound-esque program and Jo heads to Rehoboth Beach (!!!!) where her family has a beach house and works at a restaurant.
It's a cute story about how they manage to recapture their friendship. I enjoyed it, especially the references to Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, which I loved way more than I should. :)
Finished The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith for the Numbers Challenge.
This is the first in the series about Precious Ramotswe, who is a female private detective.
I'm really not a fan of this series. I know a lot of people really love it, but I thought everything was pretty rushed. And also, considering the fact that she is just starting out, she seems awfully good at it and with very little effort on her part (all things considered).
Finished A Cold Day For Murder by Dana Stabenow for the New Author Challenge.
One of my ex-girlfriends lived in Alaska for a while. Having read this (which is set in Alaska), I have no idea why anyone would want to. (This has no bearing on anything, really; just thought I'd throw it out there.)
Anyway. Kate Shugak is a former investigator in Anchorage who now lives in the middle of nowhere. An old friend comes and recruits her investigative skills because two people have disappeared. The first is a park ranger and the second is someone hired to find the park ranger.
This was definitely an interesting book. Stabenow's prose is very descriptive. I would definitely read more of her books.
Finished Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller for the New Author Challenge. I talked about it a little in the post right before this one.
Okay, seriously, this was a fantastic book. I'm not sure it exactly clarified things for me, but I wish I were friends with Donald Miller. (And Penny, who I think I'd have a huge crush on.)
Anyway, for those who haven't read this, it's a book about Christianity for people who are weirded out by Christians. (Because, no offense, some of you are scary. And the scary ones are the loud ones, so they're the ones we all hear from.)
It was a phenomenal book, and I am so glad Bekki sent it to me. :) (Thank you again.)
I literally laughed out loud in parts, and I cried in others. And I got slammed in the face by still other parts. (Example: We aren't what we say we believe; we're what we do. Which means that me saying that I care about helping people and making things better doesn't mean anything until I actually help people and make things better.
I have some more books I want to buy once my "no book buying in 2009" hiatus is over. But there's time for that later. :)
Finished Tomato Girl by Jayne Pupek for the New Author Challenge.
I forget how I first heard about this book, but it was an impulse buy. As it turns out, it was a great impulse; this is the best book I've read in a long time.
It's about Ellie, a young girl. It's mostly told in flashback, about how her family splintered apart. (Ellie lived with her father--who's in love with someone else, a girl not much older than Ellie--and her mom, who's mentally ill.) After her father leaves (a fact that you learn on the first page, so it's not a spoiler), it's her job to keep her mom as sane as possible.
This is a depressing book and it's hard because you can't swoop in and save Ellie from her life. That said, it's so amazingly good and I'd recommend this to everyone. Also, this is Jayne Pupek's first novel and I can't wait to see what else she writes. This doesn't read like a first novel at all.
Next up is Blue Like Jazz, which my awesome friend Bekki sent me. :)
Finished The Summer of Naked Swim Parties by Jessica Anya Blau, which I read for the New Author Challenge.
It's about 14-year-old Jamie and is set in 1976 in California. She's got her first boyfriend and two (really kind of obnoxious) best friends. She has an older sister who pretty much hates her and parents who are enjoying the 70s (lots of pot and parties where people swim naked--hence the title).
This book is really funny and there are parts where I cringed because I could remember being 14 and feeling the same way.
