The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Books Completed: 41
Completion Date: March 2007
Publication Year: 2007
Pages: 240
Purchased in 2007

From one of America’s iconic writers, a stunning book of electric honesty and passion. Joan Didion explores an intensely personal yet universal experience: a portrait of a marriage--and a life, in good times and bad--that will speak to anyone who has ever loved a husband or wife or child.

This book is one of those books that I have been hearing a lot about, so the other day when I was in the bookstore, I decided that I was going to pick it up and see what the fuss was all about. I like to try and read at least one non-fiction book each month, and this was my one for March.

I did not really find this book my cup of tea, and it could just simply be because I am not a wife and I do not have any children. I can see why it attracts other readers, but while it was a touching read, it was not really very relatable for me. The book talks about the authors loss of her husband and the long illness that her daughter was going through at the same time. It was interesting to read about the grieving process and just how much one person can go through before they fall apart.

I really do not know what to say about this book. I liked it, but yet did not like it at the same time. I think it is hard sometimes to say you love a book with such a depressing subject matter, but the book does show that there is hope at the end of the tunnel and you can get through the really hard things in life. So, while the book was written well and really captures the subject matter well, it just was not the right sort of book for me. It could be the subject matter, but it could also easily be the time that I chose to read it during.

It is hard to put this review into words that show what I mean.

3.5/5

Wideacre by Philippa Gregory

Books Read: 37
Completion Date: March 2007
Publication Year: 2003
Pages: 656
Owned Prior to 2007
Book 1 in the Wideacre Trilogy

Beatrice Lacey, as strong-minded as she is beautiful, refuses to conform to the social customs of her time. Destined to lose her family name and beloved Wideacre estate once she is wed, Beatrice will use any means necessary to protect her ancestral heritage. Seduction, betrayal, even murder — Beatrice's passion is without apology or conscience. "She is a Lacey of Wideacre," her father warns, "and whatever she does, however she behaves, will always be fitting." Yet even as Beatrice's scheming seems about to yield her dream, she is haunted by the one living person who knows the extent of her plans...and her capacity for evil.

Sumptuously set in Georgian England, Wideacre is intensely gripping, rich in texture, and full of color and authenticity. It is a saga as irresistible in its singular magic as its heroine.

I know that Phillippa Gregory is a lot of people's favourite historical fiction novelist, but I keep trying and I keep wondering what I am missing. It took me forever to read this book. I started it last year, actually, and am only just finishing it now! I kept hoping that it would get better, but it just did nothing for me.

I am left trying to explain why I did not like this book. I am pretty easy-going. Romance may not be my normal genre, but I will read it, so the fact that this book could easily be classified as a romantic historical fiction novel is not a turn off for me. I am also pretty open-minded when it comes to different styles of relationships in books. This book, though, is really just a book full of incest. It just got to be too much, I have to admit. Romance is one thinking, reading 500 pages of a girl bonking her brother started to get just a bit too much. If it was a small part or even a moderate part, I would not have minded it, but it just got out of hand.

I understand why the heroine is the way that she is. Women during her time period had very few chances to have a life for themselves, so she found herself trying to find a way to get the power she needed in order to have land. Controlling her brother would give her a better chance than any other plan, but it just was not my cup of tea. I have read better historical fiction books, that's for sure. I have no plans to read the rest of this trilogy, it might get better, but there are too many good books out there that I would rather read.

1/5

To read other reviews of Gregory's books I have read, just click the titles:
The Constant Princess
The Other Boelyn Girl
Bread and Chocolate
The Queen's Fool

Map of Bones by James Rollins

Books Read: 35
Completion Date: March, 2007
Publication Year: 2006
Pages: 560
Owned Prior to 2007

During a crowded service at a cathedral in Germany, armed intruders in monks' robes unleash a nightmare of blood and destruction. But the killers have not come for gold; they seek a more valuable prize: the bones of the Magi who once paid homage to a newborn savior . . . a treasure that could reshape the world.

With the Vatican in turmoil, SIGMA Force leaps into action. An elite team of scientific and Special Forces operatives under the command of Grayson Pierce and accompanied by Lieutenant Rachel Verona of Rome's carabinieri, they are pursuing a deadly mystery that weaves through sites of the Seven Wonders of the World and ends at the doorstep of an ancient, mystical, and terrifying secret order. For there are those with dark plans for the stolen sacred remains that will alter the future of humankind . . . when science and religion unite to unleash a horror not seen since the beginning of time.

I am a big James Rollins fan, but I like to savour his books. They are my fun reads for the most part, and I have yet to dislike anything I have read by him. I felt that it was about time that I got caught up on his books, I think I have three left to read after this one. This is one of his newer ones, and is technically the first book in his SIGMA series, but I personally think that Sandstorm is book one because SIGMA is in that book and because one of the main characters in this book appears in that one. So, if you like to read a series in order, this is really, for me, book two.

I know that this book has been heavily compared with The Da Vinci Code, but really, you should try and separate the two. I enjoyed this book way more than Brown's book, and I think it is sad that because Brown pushes the envelope his book beats out books that are actually much more interesting. Religion plays a role in this book, and their a treasure hunt of sorts, but it does not challenge religion like Da Vinci did. It is more about the search, the thrilling conclusion, that sort of thing. The only thing that disappointed me about this book is that the setting was more ordinary than other books. I mean, they find something that was lost forever and such, but his other books just have the exotic location play a larger role.

This book also reminded me of how much I like the Ancient Wonders of the World. They used to be a part of history that I read a great deal about, so it was nice to see them, predominantly The Lighthouse of Alexandria, get a mention. It made me start looking for new books that cover the subject of the ancient wonders.

Overall, I really liked this book. Rollins is really my guilty pleasure because I do not normally read the genre that he writes in, but I am glad that I was introduced to him, and I hope that he continues to write good books! I admit I am a little worried about the direction his books might go into now that he is writing a series, but I have high hopes that they will remain good!

4/5

To see reviews of other books by this author, click on the titles:
Sandstorm
Excavation

Sula by Toni Morrison

Sula by Toni Morrison

Books Read: 34
Completion Date: February, 2007
Publication Year: 2002 (reprint)
Pages: 192
Purchased for University in 2007

Toni Morrison's first novel, The Bluest Eye (1970), was acclaimed as the work of an important talent, written--as John Leonard said in The New York Times--in a prose "so precise, so faithful to speech and so charged with pain and wonder that the novel becomes poetry."

Her new novel has the same power, the same beauty.

At its center--a friendship between two women, a friendship whose intensity first sustains, then injures. Sula and Nel--both black, both smart, both poor, raised in a small Ohio town--meet when they are twelve, wishbone thin and dreaming of princes.

Through their girlhood years they share everything--perceptions, judgments, yearnings, secrets, even crime--until Sula gets out, out of the Bottom, the hilltop neighborhood where beneath the sporting life of the men hanging around the place in headrags and soft felt hats there hides a fierce resentment at failed crops, lost jobs, thieving insurance men, bug-ridden flour...at the invisible line that cannot be overstepped.

Sula leaps it and roams the cities of America for ten years. Then she returns to the town, to her friend. But Nel is a wife now, settled with her man and her three children. She belongs. She accommodates to the Bottom, where you avoid the hand of God by getting in it, by staying upright, helping out at church suppers, asking after folks--where you deal with evil by surviving it.

Not Sula. As willing to feel pain as to give pain, she can never accommodate. Nel can't understand her any more, and the others never did. Sula scares them. Mention her now, and they recall that she put her grandma in an old folks' home (the old lady who let a train take her leg for the insurance)...that a child drowned in the river years ago...that there was a plague of robins when she first returned...

In clear, dark, resonant language, Toni Morrison brilliantly evokes not only a bond between two lives, but the harsh, loveless, ultimately mad world in which that bond is destroyed, the world of the Bottom and its people, through forty years, up to the time of their bewildered realization that even more than they feared Sula, their pariah, they needed her.

This is one of those authors that everyone loves, her books have won the Noble Prize, and I just find myself, well, unfulfilled when I read her. I have read another book by her, and I cannot even remember the title anymore. She is an author that I would love to say that I like because she really does write on good subject matters that should be interesting, but she always falls flat for me. I always planned to read her again after my first attempt to see if it was just the book choice, and I had to read this one for school, so it worked out. I still do not like her.

This book is about many things, most of all the friendship between Sula and Nel, the treatment of Black people in this time period, and the superstitious nature of people. There are a lot of interesting instances in this book, a lot of scenes where I laughed or was surprised, but overall, I just could not get into this book. It also talks about how hard it was to be a single woman at this time, capturing it with the crazy (to us) methods that one woman went to in order to feed her children.

It really is a short book, only 192 pages, and in the course of there is love, life, laughter, and death. And, I am afraid that it is not very fresh in my memory anymore, so that is all I am going to say.

3/5

This is the second time I have read this author.

Authors Gender:
Female: 27
Males: 7

Conspiracy in Death by J.D. Robb

Books Read: 42
Completion Date: March, 2007
Publication Year: 2003
Pages: 400
Purchased Prior to 2007
Part of the In Death series

The #1 New York Times bestselling series featuring police lieutenant Eve Dallas.

New York City's most vulnerable citizens fall victim to a ruthless serial killer.

The pursuit of a serial killer leaves Eve Dallas's job on the line.

This is another buddy review with me and Marg from Reading Adventures. I am in blue, she is in black.

Conspiracy in Death is following on from Midnight in Death if you read the short stories, or Holiday in Death if you do not. It is still the winter months, as snow is mentioned several times through the course of the book, there is even one scene where Dallas and Roarke make snowpeople! Very cute little scene. Anyways, so a few weeks have passed since the last time Eve found herself in trouble, and she is on the move again.

This is the story of a very unusual case for Dallas. She responds to the death of a street sleeper, not exactly the high profile case that Eve normally finds herself on, but this is Eve and she speaks for the dead. She is determined to put this murderer to rest, and when other similar cases start popping up, she finds that she has a lot of dead to speak for. Only she did not bargain with the power of the murderer, he knows how to push the right buttons and take away the thing that Eve needs most.

For me the most interesting part of this novel was the effect on Eve when there was a chance that she could no longer be a police officer. It was very emotional to read this strong woman basically falling apart as the thing that she thinks makes her who she is taken away from her. There have been times in the earlier novels where we have seen Eve's feelings hurt, but this time it was more than that, it was a complete collapse that Roarke had to try and fight both for her and with her. This book is a growing book for Eve. She had a troubled childhood, and being a cop is the way that she has rose above her past. To Eve, her badge is who she is. If Roarke was not also a part of her life, it would be hard to see her surviving this aspect of her life, but Roarke knows the buttons to push to get her back up kicking butt.

I think it was interesting that the author chose to use Eve's professionalism as a police officer against her in this novel, especially in relation to the inept policewoman who makes the allegations against Eve. I have to admit that when a young policeman called Troy Truelove entered the story, I actually thought that he was going to be a murder victim, but in the end it didn't happen! I guess it doesn't mean to say that he won't make appearances in future books! Troy Truelove is a pretty funny name to include, but it offered a laugh. It was interesting for this book to show attacks on Eve's methods because she has been on the job something like eleven years, and this is the first time anything has ever happened to mark her record. It is hard when you reach the top and people resent you for it. I think Eve wrestled with a lot through this book.

This was very much an interesting book to read. In the other books, Eve might have her problems, but she is always at the top. In this book, she finds herself a very different one, and we see her grow as a person. It is impressive to see just how close she has come to the people that she works and interacts with after spending so much of her life alone and fighting to survive. This book is a typical Eve Dallas book, but at the same time, it more sentimental and inspiring than previous ones.

I look forward to reading the next one.

Rating: 4/5

4.5/5

To read the other books reviewed in this series, click the titles below:
Naked in Death
Vengeance in Death
Glory in Death
Immortal in Death
Rapture in Death
Ceremony in Death
Holiday in Death

Once Upon a Time Reading Challenge

Since I already read a lot of fantasy, this is not really a challenge for me. I just find if I say I want to read a certain list, I get scared of the books on that list and do not read them! So, these are just some of the countless fantasy books that I want to read. So, the goal? To read five books out of this list. It's a busy time of year, so flexibility is good. When this challenge is over, I should have graduated from university (scary). Anyways, for those that do not know anything about this challenge, click here to visit Stainless Steel Droppings.

Fantasy:
1. The Bishop's Heir by Katherine Kurtz
2. Lion of Senet by Jennifer Fallon
3. Child of Saturn by Teresa Edgerton
4. The Blood Red Harp by Elaine Cunningham
5. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
6. Green Rider by Kristen Britain
7. Dragons of the Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
8. The Jaguar Knights by Dave Duncan
9. Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
10.Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings
11.The Wizard's Ward by Deborah Hale
12.Lirael by Garth Nix
13.The Sword of Calandra by Susan Dexter
14.Dragon Bones by Patricia Briggs
15.The Briar King by Greg Keyes

Mythology:
1. Celtika by Robert Holdstock
2. Guardian of the Balance by Irene Radford
3. The Dragon Queen by Alice Borchardt
4. Taliesin by Stephen R. Lawhead
5. The Seeing Stone by Kevin Crossley-Holland
6. Olympos by Dan Simmons
7. The Hedge of Mists by Patricia Kennealy-Morrison
8. Ancestors of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
9. Shield of Thunder by David Gemmell
10.The Firebrand by Marion Zimmer Bradley
11.The Kingmaking by Helen Hollick

Folklore:
1. The Singing Stone by O.R. Melling
2. The Book of Dreams by O.R. Melling
3. In the Night Garden by Catherynne M. Valente

Urban Fantasy:
1. Ill Wind by Rachel Caine
2. Glass Houses by Rachel Caine
3. Storm Front by Jim Butcher
4. Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
5. Stolen by Kelley Armstrong
6.Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong

Fairy Tales:
1. Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
2. Beauty by Sheri S. Tepper
3. Summer at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn
4. Once Upon an Autumn's Eve by Dennis L. McKiernan
5. The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars by Steven Brust
6. Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
7. Tam Lin by Pamela Dean (the book calls it a fairy tale, but technically a folktale)
8. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

Short Story Collections:
1. Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman

Others That I Want to Read
1. The Wizard's Ward by Deborah Hale
2. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
3. King's Peace by Jo Walton
4. Newton's Cannon by J. Gregory Keyes
5. Queen of the Darkness by Anne Bishop
6. Horses of Heaven by Gillian Bradshaw
7. The Saxon Shore by Jack Whyte
8. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
9. Sea Without a Shore by Sean Russell
10.Prophecy by Elizabeth Haydon
11.Lady of the Forest by Jennifer Roberson
12.The Catswold Portal by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
13.Mammoth by John Varley
14.Sisters of the Raven by Barbara Hambly
15.Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams
16.Servant of the Shard by R.A. Salvatore
17.Flight of the Nighthawks by Raymond E. Feist

Obviously, I read fantasy all year round, so this is for both the challenge and my own personal reading. It would be awesome if I could read all these books this year....

Valiant by Holly Black

Books Read: 38
Completion Date: March, 2007
Publication Year: 2006
Pages: 313
Purchased in 2007
Sequel to Tithe

When seventeen-year-old Valerie Russell runs away to New York City, she's trying to escape a life that has utterly betrayed her. Sporting a new identity, she takes up with a gang of squatters who live in the city's labyrinthine subway system.

But there's something eerily beguiling about Val's new friends. Impulsive Lolli talks of monsters in the subway tunnels they call home and shoots up a shimmery amber-colored powder that makes the shadows around her dance. Severe Luis claims he can make deals with creatures that no one else can see. And then there's Luis's brother, timid and sensitive Dave, who makes the mistake of letting Val tag along as he makes a delivery to a woman who turns out to have goat hooves instead of feet.

When a bewildered Val allows Lolli to talk her into tracking down the hidden lair of the creature for whom Luis and Dave have been dealing, Val finds herself bound into service by a troll named Ravus. He is as hideous as he is honorable. And as Val grows to know him, she finds herself torn between her affection for an honorable monster and her fear of what her new friends are becoming.

Bestselling author Holly Black follows her breakout debut, Tithe, with a rich, harrowing, and compulsively readable parable of betrayal, abuse, friendship, and love.

To read my review of this book, click here.

Thursday Thirteen

SciFiChick posted her thirteen favourite science fiction books, and I decided that I am going to post my thirteen favourite fantasy books.

1. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I first read this book about 4 years ago. It was the first present that Tom ever bought me, and I do not even remember the reason. I enjoyed all the sequels as well, but I have not read Ancestors yet. There is a new book coming out in the series this summer, Ravens of Avalon. So, I will likely read Ancestors before it comes out.

2. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. A fantasy list would not be complete without these books. I first read them a few years ago. It was a summer read, and I always wanted to go back and read them again, but we all know how great I am at rereads...

3. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. This was one of my favourite series when I was little. I reread them a few years ago when I got a gift certificate that would cover the purchase for either my birthday or Christmas.

4. The Wrinkle in Time quartet by Madeleine L'Engle. I read A Wrinkle in Time in junior high. It was a kind of funny story, to be honest. I had to read a book for school, and my mother had bought me A Wrinkle in Time, so I read that, and then it turned out by searching through my books that I had already bought it for myself, so I had two copies. This was before amazon.ca, although I would eventually go on to order some of her books from the States, so I had a hard time tracking down the rest of her books forever! By some fluke, this was the days of the book club newletters at school, and low and behold, one day there were five books in there by her. In order to get the rest of the quartet (and I think An Acceptable Time), I had to buy A Wrinkle in Time again. I got her Austin series and few of her other books when I went to Texas to Barnes and Noble, and her adult novels I ordered second hand off Barnes and Noble. There are still a few of her books that I want and cannot find, but I am impressed with how many I do have. The book that I generally only ever see in stores in A Wrinkle in Time. (Oh, at its peak, I owned four copies of A Wrinkle in Time. I bought myself a 4-in-1 copy about one to two years ago because it was easier to carry around.)

5. The "Light" quartet by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I have actually only read two of the four, Ghostlight and Witchlight, but I hope to read the other two maybe this year. A good mix of the modern world and fantasy, usually in the appearance of witches and magic.

6. The Witches' series by Ruth Chew. I am not actually sure that this is the title of the books, but this is a youth series that I really used to like when I was little. I think they were out of print even when I read them because I always had to find them at the second hand store. I do not have all of her books, maybe one day I will see if I can order the rest online, but I used to love them when I was little. They were an automatic buy anytime I saw them because they involved witches and were entertaining. Likely would be termed as very light fantasy, though, in many cases.

7. Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. A really entertaining look at the apocolypse that I read a couple of years ago. It was the first time I read Gaiman, and I think my second time reading Pratchett. I enjoyed it a lot!

8. The Princess Bride by William Goldman. I am not sure when the first time I read this book was, but I remember thinking it was very entertaining! I reread it a couple years ago, and I still love it.

9. Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne-Jones. A very well-written fairy tale retelling sort of book. I really enjoyed it when I read it for the first time a couple years ago.

10. The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey. An entertaining read.

11. Several series that I feel I should read more of before commenting on, like Elizabeth Haydon, Jack Whyte, David Gemmell, Sharon Shinn... etc.

12. Naomi Novik and Maria. Snyder. I only tentatively put these two on here because Snyder is not done yet and I still have a book in the TBR pile from Novik.

13. All the great books that I have not read yet, but I will.

2007 Spring Reading Thing

I wasn't going to join in on this challenge because I have been really busy lately and I never seem to have time to read like I would like. But, I changed my mind. I am only going to challenge myself to read five books, though. I am going to make a big list in any case because I am a mood reader, and I seem to grow scared of a list after I make it.

1. Stanley Park by Timothy Taylor
2. Getting Rid of Matthew by Jane Fallon
3. Never Have Your Dog Stuffed by Alan Alda
4. Horse by J. Edward Chamberlain
5. The Ruins by Scott Smith
6. Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling
7. The Extra Large Medium by Helen Slavin
8. Helpless by Barbara Gowdy
9. The Hatbox Letters by Beth Powning
10.Mental Traps by Andre Kukla
11.Everything You Know by Zoe Heller
12.The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
13.The Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullen
14.Accursed by Amber Benson
15.Children of God by Mary Doria Russell
16.Flags of our Fathers by James Bradley
17.The Acadians by James Laxer
18.Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange
19.Patriot Hearts by Barbara Hambly
20.A Vision of Light by Judith Merkle Riley

There we are. I am not too concerned if I do not necessarily read what I set out to read. My goal with reading is to discover new authors and clean off the TBR pile so that I can not feel like I am out of control.

This is Sandy...

Just in case anyone was wondering what life was like in my house, this is my "baby". Her name is Sandy, and she is going to be 11 this summer. Her sister was hit by a car about seven years ago, which was very sad, but Sandy is older now than Shelby ever saw. (Same parents, different litter). Anyways, she is slowing down, and arthritis and hip problems are very common in golden retrievers, but we are hoping she will hold out for a couple years longer. I promised her that I would not make her suffer, but I would not mind having her around a bit longer. See, this is when you know people should not be parents, when they cannot even taken care of their dogs. In other words, she began her life belonging to my father, but when my parents divorced, he just left her, so I adopted her as my own. The dogs liked me pretty well, anyways, so it was not hard. Me and my father used to fight about Shelby, actually... He liked her, just poor Sandy was not the best behaved puppy in the world. But, she seems to like me, and she follows me everywhere I go, so I think she has had a pretty good life. She's laying her beside me as I write this actually. I call her Rascal. I have since she was a puppy and she refuses to come to anyone else if they call her that (they have tried). I have special rights. When she was a puppy I used to call her "little one" too, but she is not really very little anymore. And now she is here for attention, so I will end this for now.

Many Apologies

I am aware I am supposed to be a book review blog, but I caught a cold and it was really bad the first couple days, but I am feeling much better today. I just have a really bad cough for the most part. So, it is my goal to catch up on reading and blogging in the next few days. I hope that will happen!

In other news, Tom went to the doctor yesterday and they STILL do not know what is wrong with him. It has been since January, so it is getting a bit stressful to wonder what is going to be happening. All we know is that there appears to be an abnormality on his brain, but they are not sure what it is at the moment, so they are not sure what method to curing they are going to have to take. So, he is looking at another month to wait for another test and then have them tell him what it is. It's all pretty crazy because in the meantime, he cannot work, and unless something changes, he is not allowed to work until at least 6 months after treatment because he works at a place where it is dangerous to have spells. He does not even have a diagnosis yet.

I do not really have anything else to say.... oh, I picked out my grad pictures today. I have to admit, me and my mother were looking at them and it did not really look like me at all! I just hope nothing screws up and I do not end up graduating, because I am actually starting to look forward to everything... I think... I have to admit, school is a lot of the reason why my blog is so dead. I have a lot of schoolwork this semester!

And, that is the end of me and my boring life. I promise to write some reviews and stop rambling on shortly. Oh, and where is everyone's list of TEN BOOKS YOU CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT? I cannot make a very good master list of the books that bloggers cannot live without if I only have like five lists... Just ten books, then comment to tell me that you participated. It's fun, and just think of the completed product! Remember, you have until April 15th!

Books, books, and more books!

First off, since they are books as well as movies, if anyone is the least bit interested in Star Wars or curious as to why I brought it up, click here and you will be brought over to Twisted Kingdom.

In book news, I finished Nefertiti this morning. I have to applaud the book, folks, it was really good and the research that went into it was very apparent! The author has asked that either I repost my review closer to the release or I save the review until then. I think I am going to type it up in the next couple days, but I will post it just before the book is released so people do not forget about it. I know that a lot of people are out there that like historical fiction, and I strongly recommend this one! Apparently there is going to be a sequel, too, so I am very excited to see what happens in that one! I have been pretty unimpressed with my forays into historical fiction lately and have been mostly sticking with fantasy, this book was very much the better of the historical fiction I have read in the last couple years. Do not forget about it, I will be back in July to remind everyone, but still, very worthwhile read!

Then, yesterday, I got books in the mail. Four to be exact. Two I bought for myself, and two were gifts. I got:

Beatrix Potter by Linda Lear I first heard about this book on A Fair Substitute for Heaven and I was very interested to give it a read because for how amazing a children's writer Beatrix Potter was, she really does not have very many books out about her. This is one of the books that was a gift because I was going to wait for it in paperback. I am very happy that I get the chance to read it!

Portrait of an Unknown Woman by Vanora Bennett This book is historical fiction. She is being compared with Sharon Kay Penman, and since I liked what I have read from Penman, I thought I would give it a try! This came with the Beatrix Potter book.

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie I have been hearing good things about this book. The sequel came out this month, but I have to read this one first.

Newton's Cannon: Book One of the Age of Unreason J. Gregory Keyes This is an author that I had wanted to read and I heard pretty good things about this, so I figured this was a good place to start.

Ten Books I Could Not Live Without

I should probably participate in my own thing, should I not? This is going to be hard. I had a few down years, but I normally read a lot of books in a year, so let's see what happens.

1. The Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery: These books have been with me since I was really little. I remember one summer, and I was relatively young, I took all eight books and read them one right after the other. I have read book one several times on its own, both when I was younger and when I was older. I also grew up on the movie.

2. The Time Quartet by Madeleine L'Engle: I credit this series with my move to fantasy and science fiction, but I think I had already been reading some sci-fi before reading these books. So, it was probably the precursor to reading a large amount of fantasy. Since reading the quartet, I have read many of her other books. I also reread this series, which is actually pretty impressive for me because while I would like to reread, I rarely do.

3. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens: I really cannot see the world without this book. Where would we be without Tiny Tim and Scrooge? This book has really influenced Christmas, look at all the movies that have been made from it. I just cannot imagine the world without this book.

4. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis: I love this series. I mentioned in the post about the original list that I thought it was both good and bad that a movie has reinterested the world in these books, but let me tell, I have been a Lewis fangirl for years! I owned the complete set way before it was cool to own the complete set.

5. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (including The Hobbit): As a fantasy reader, my list would not be complete without these four books. I also discovered this set before the movies, and to me, they are what made fantasy what it is today. I could not image the world without these books in it. I think I am due for a reread. I also have always meant to read more Tolkien... someday!

6. The Beatrix Potter Collection by Beatrix Potter: I was really surprised that these books were not on the UK list considering that Potter is a UK author! These books were my favourite books when I was really little, and they are the books that I always want to buy for the people in my life that decide to have babies. I actually just received a biography of Potter in the mail today, a gift from Tom. I was so happy because as much as I love Potter, it was not even very discounted on Amazon, so I would have waited for it in paperback. He really came through!

7. The Avalon Series by Marion Zimmer Bradley: I am noticing a trend with the books that I am listing, they are all mostly series! But, I love these books. I love Arthurian-type books, which is why I first read Mists of Avalon, and I loved everything that came afterwards. I could not imagine a world without Bradley in it, she is totally my favourite fantasy author.

8. Grimm's Fairy Tales by The Grimm's Brothers: I could not imagine the world without these fairy tales because they offered the chance to dream. They were the precursors to many of the storylines that are available today. They do not look on women very flatteringly, but they started a trend where authors attempted to change how fairy tales look at women. Even still, the Grimm's can happily be credited for taking previously unpublished stories and offering children a chance to dream.

9. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes: This book is on here purely because it is both a scary and touching look at genetic manipulation of humans. It is one of the first books that ever made me cry, and I love it. This book even when I have not reread it recently will stick with me always.

10. The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne: I had a hard time deciding on my last book, but this book has always stayed with me because it shows us where we have come as human beings. Life may not be perfect for women in modern society, but it has come a long way from where it was. This book sticks with me always.

11. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott: Okay, I cheated. I really thought I liked my ten books but then I scrolled up and discovered that I had missed this one. This book was my first big read, as I actually own the whole novel (and hope to reread it this year). I love this book, and I would hate to see the world without it.

So, who else is going to join in? I got my first submission from Chris from book-a-rama today. If people follow my lovely example and cheat... do not cheat TOO much. I just cannot follow my own rules.

Going back to Chris's post, she raised what I essentially hope to do with this list. It does not have to be the best book you have read in any given year, what it should be is more a list of books that you cannot imagine the world without, whether because you could not imagine not having them to read, or because you could not imagine them having their effects on society like they do. Also, I think the list only is really compelling if you have actually read the book. Chris mentioned "The Bible". While I doubt a lot of people can imagine the world without it, it cannot have touched you as a person if you have not actually read it. Keep these things in mind!

I also promise to not say anything if you include some of the books that I was rather... critical about on my post about the UK winners. But, seriously, the world can honestly get along fine without Bridget Jones. I'm sorry if people think otherwise, but it really can!

Just Taking a Moment to Remember

This is not a post to way the pros and cons of the wars that are being fought in distant countries, but I have to bring the subject up. In my province, it is now 11 AM and I am sure you guys sort of remember me mentioning Tom... Anyways, a person that he went to high school with and knew reasonably well was killed in Afghanistan about a week ago, and the funeral is happening right now. I never met him, but I do know several people that called him a friend and I think that it is honestly very tragic. It is also the closest I have come to knowing someone killed in our present wars. I would just like to take this moment to offer my deepest sympathy to his family and friends. By the sounds of it, this was a well-loved guy and how it died was nothing short of a tragedy.

To read more, you can click here.

I also found it interesting that the Prime Minister said something about this: here. It is always nice to hear that the leaders of our country supports a war.

Also, speaking of Tom, he has taken some spells recently and the doctor sent him for some tests on his brain. He finds out if it is serious or not on Monday, so any happy thoughts you can send his way would be very appreciated! He has had several moments lately where he thought for sure the doctor would tell him he was dying. It's what happens with long waiting lists for many of the tests, he has had two months to sit home and think about what could be going on because they took him off work and he is not allowed to drive. I am hopeful that Tom will be around to annoy me for many more years to come, but I have to admit, part of me is worried too.

Sorry for the depressing post!

Books You Cannot Live Without

The Guardian (UK) conducted a poll to mark World Book Day, which was on March 1 in the UK. 2,000 people took part and were asked to name the 10 titles they could not live without. I am not sure why I am randomly pulling this list up, but I am...

The following is the 100 books that people cannot live without. What do people think about the list? What are ten books that you cannot live without? Are there books on here that you think should totally not be? What about books that are missing?

ACTUALLY, AFTER WRITING MY OPINIONS, I THOUGHT, WHY NOT MAKE A BLOGGERS BOOKS THEY CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT.... ANYONE INTERESTED?
If you are, just list the ten books you cannot live without on your blog and make sure to link it back to me by commenting on my blog. Advertise on your blog if you would be so nice to, and then in a months time (April 15th), I will collect all the books together and see what ones come up the most. Good idea, bad idea, thoughts? I doubt it will be 100 books, but you never know, word of mouth is a wonderful thing.

I decided that I am going to offer some opinions on the books. Feel free to do the same on your own blogs.

1 Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen (one of the few classics I truly have enjoyed reading)

2 The Lord of the Rings JRR Tolkien (what would fantasy be without this trilogy? I LOVE it, and I believe that without it, fantasy would be a very different thing.)

3 Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte (haven't read yet)

4 Harry Potter series JK Rowling (Oh, Harry Potter. I know so many people that love you, you encourage children to read, but you are not really great! There are better books, but they get overshadowed by this pop cultural series. I have some Harry Potter issues...)

5 To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee (I REALLY need to read this)

6 The Bible (not going to go here)

7 Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte (yeah, haven't read this one yet either)

8 Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell (see above)

9 His Dark Materials Philip Pullman (Why? I could totally live without this trilogy. It's okay, but not essential! And even if I liked it, I would put it near the end of this list. There are better books!)

10 Great Expectations Charles Dickens (yay, number 10 is my favourite Dickens!)

11 Little Women Louisa M Alcott (I agree, I love this book and I grew up on both it and one of the old movie versions)

12 Tess of the d'Urbervilles Thomas Hardy (haven't read yet)

13 Catch-22 Joseph Heller (haven't read yet)

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare William Shakespeare (okay, I am going to have to leave this one alone unless everyone wants to have a rant post. I will say, how the heck did Philip Pullman beat William Shakespeare...)

15 Rebecca Daphne Du Maurier (haven't read yet)

16 The Hobbit JRR Tolkien (Another essential part of fantasy, my favourite genre)

17 Birdsong Sebastian Faulks (I own, but have not read)

18 Catcher in the Rye JD Salinger (omg, hated this book. I just found it so... dull)

19 The Time Traveler's Wife Audrey Niffenegger (I have to admit that I liked this book)

20 Middlemarch George Eliot (yay, George Eliot, even if I have not read this book)

21 Gone With The Wind Margaret Mitchell (I liked the movie, but haven't done the book yet)

22 The Great Gatsby F Scott Fitzgerald (somehow I missed having to read this in school)

23 Bleak House Charles Dickens (haven't read this one yet)

24 War and Peace Leo Tolstoy (I am saving this one for when I have time to devote to it)

25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams (Science fiction at its best. Totally better than Pullman... and well, many of these books are better than Rowlings)

26 Brideshead Revisited Evelyn Waugh (um, that is just a weird title. I have to admit, I have NEVER heard of this book before)

27 Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoyevsky (haven't read yet)

28 Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck (I love Steinbeck)

29 Alice in Wonderland Lewis Carroll (ugh, totally do not get the attraction with this book.)

30 The Wind in the Willows Kenneth Grahame (one of my favourite books as a kid)

31 Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy (haven't got here yet)

32 David Copperfield Charles Dickens (haven't read this one either)

33 Chronicles of Narnia CS Lewis (I have loved this series forever. I was a little sad that it was mostly underappreciated for quite some time until a movie revived it. But, at least people have read and loved it)

34 Emma Jane Austen (haven't read yet)

35 Persuasion Jane Austen (see above)

36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe CS Lewis (hm, would this not essentially be the same as 33...)

37 The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini (Decent read. I did not like it as much as some, though. I just have issues with hyped books... that's why I really do not read that many classics)

38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin Louis de Bernières (never felt the need)

39 Memoirs of a Geisha Arthur Golden (decent book. I am starting to notice a movie trend in this list, though... is it the books or the movies that have made them famous that is the case with this list...)

40 Winnie the Pooh AA Milne (who can live without Winnie the Pooh! And, he was a Canadian bear. What more can one say?)

41 Animal Farm George Orwell (interesting look at the Russian Revolution)

42 The Da Vinci Code Dan Brown (ugh. It was okay, but my god, it is not like the book to end all books...)

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel Garcia Marquez (I liked this book but it made me appreciate the variety of names in my daily life because the names in this book just confused me half the time)

44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney John Irving (I'll get to it someday)

45 The Woman in White Wilkie Collins (someday)

46 Anne of Green Gables LM Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables is up there with Little Women. I love Montgomery. So happy to see her on this list)

47 Far From The Madding Crowd Thomas Hardy (hm, not a Hardy title I have heard of)

48 The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood (I'm sorry fellow Canadians, I am not a big Atwood fan. This book is okay, but it took me a few tries to get into it)

49 Lord of the Flies William Golding (I think this book is one of the worst things I have ever been subjected to)

50 Atonement Ian McEwan (I like this book, better than Amsterdam.)

51 Life of Pi Yann Martel (ahem, I have some issues with this book that I will save for a rainy day)

52 Dune Frank Herbert (another great classic in my favourite genre, but I haven't read it yet.)

53 Cold Comfort Farm Stella Gibbons (this selection just... confuses me)

54 Sense and Sensibility Jane Austen (again with the Austen...)

55 A Suitable Boy Vikram Seth (haven't read yet)

56 The Shadow of the Wind Carlos Ruiz Zafon (I started this book...)

57 A Tale Of Two Cities Charles Dickens (Another Dickens I have not got to yet)

58 Brave New World Aldous Huxley (not read)

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Mark Haddon (okay book, but another one that I really don't understand why people cannot live without it)

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera Gabriel Garcia Marquez (after all the names in his other book, I am on a Marquez break... should come off that soon)

61 Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck (my favourite Steinbeck)

62 Lolita Vladimir Nabokov (um, hm, I have read this book. I can't really say I can't without it)

63 The Secret History Donna Tartt (I own, not read)

64 The Lovely Bones Alice Sebold (This was okay... again, I could live without it)

65 Count of Monte Cristo Alexandre Dumas (I like Dumas, but I have not read this one)

66 On The Road Jack Kerouac (not sure if I know this book)

67 Jude the Obscure Thomas Hardy (another Hardy I have never heard of. I am uncultured with Hardy's)

68 Bridget Jones's Diary Helen Fielding (You have GOT to be kidding me!)

69 Midnight's Children Salman Rushdie (this won the Booker)

70 Moby Dick Herman Melville (I don't mind this book)

71 Oliver Twist Charles Dickens (how did Bridget Jones beat this book?)

72 Dracula Bram Stoker (or this one as a matter of fact)

73 The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett (great book!)

74 Notes From A Small Island Bill Bryson (The lovely Bryson. I can tell this is UK, more Canadian authors than the US normally have)

75 Ulysses James Joyce (someday...)

76 The Bell Jar Sylvia Plath (not read)

77 Swallows and Amazons Arthur Ransome (no idea what this is)

78 Germinal Emile Zola (see above)

79 Vanity Fair William Makepeace Thackeray (the movie ruined this for me)

80 Possession AS Byatt (I keep meaning to read this)

81 A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens (more Dickens! I really like Dickens. How did Bridget Jones beat Dickens?)

82 Cloud Atlas David Mitchell (I have heard iffy things about this book, so never sure if I would like it or not.)

83 The Color Purple Alice Walker (okay, how did Bridget Jones beat this book! I really really like this book!)

84 The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro (never read)

85 Madame Bovary Gustave Flaubert (I have seen a movie version)

86 A Fine Balance Rohinton Mistry (I meant to read this book last year)

87 Charlotte's Web EB White (I am really not sure how some of the above books beat this book....)

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven Mitch Albom (It's okay...)

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (A part of our culture. Who does not know who Sherlock Holmes is? Who wants to forget who Bridget Jones is?)

90 The Faraway Tree Collection Enid Blyton (no idea what this is)

91 Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad (hm.. I think I read part of this.)

92 The Little Prince Antoine de Saint-Exupery (never read)

93 The Wasp Factory Iain Banks (This surprises me because I have heard of other books by him before this one)

94 Watership Down Richard Adams (Wow, surprised this book is so far down the list)

95 A Confederacy of Dunces John Kennedy Toole (never read)

96 A Town Like Alice Nevil Shute (no idea)

97 The Three Musketeers Alexandre Dumas (I could cry. Bridget Jones and Harry Potter beat The Three Musketeers? )

98 Hamlet William Shakespeare (um, this would be in the collected works, wouldn't it..)

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl (okay, probably should not make any more Bridget Jones' cracks, huh)

100 Les Misérables Victor Hugo (Wow, this book surprises me to be at the end)

You can see the article by clicking here.

Howdy Everybody!

I apologize for how lacking in the posting I have been lately. I have just been really busy, and very stressed. This semester has been, by far, one of the most stressful periods of my life, but I am still alive! The problem with everything going on in my life is that I have been a bit lacking in the reading. I just seem unable to concentrate on one book, so I have a bunch on the go and look at whatever I am in the mood for. This means that I am not really finishing books, but the month is not over, so I am going to concentrate on cleaning out the books that I have started and not finished.

So, what am I reading? I am about 500 pages into J.V. Jone's A Cavern of Black Ice. I REALLY like this book, but it is like 900 pages, and has just been intimidating lately. I hope to rectify the situation and actually read some of it this weekend. It's a fantasy trilogy, that I have heard rumours migh turn into a quartet. This is book one. It has been on my list forever, but nothing against the author because she writes really well, but it takes her a very long time to release books. Book 2 has been out since something like the year 2000 and book 3 is only coming out this year. So, I have been waiting to read it. If I finish it, it will be my chunkster read for the month because even thought I bought it this year, I have been excited about it for several years. So far I strongly recommend it, and for those that wonder, J.V. Jone's is a female author. I do not MEAN to read so many women, it just happens....

I also admit I got distracted by an advanced reading copy of a book I got in the mail yesterday. It is called Nefertiti by Michelle Moran. I have to admit I am a bit infatuated with it right now. Nefertiti is a Queen of Egypt. Egypt has always been one of my favourite areas of historical study, but I am REALLY picky about the novels I read set in this time frame. It is a bit premature, I am only a hundred pages into it, but if nothing changes consider this me telling everyone to BUY THIS BOOK! It will be out on July 10th from Crown Publishing. I hope nothing drastic happens because so far, I really am enjoying the reading experience. It tells the story of both Nefertiti and her sister, Mutnodjmet.

Also circulating through my hands are A Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, Helpless by Barbara Gowdy (which I was very lucky to get from Harper Collins because originally, I was going to agonizingly wait for the paperback. This is just a plug for Barbara Gowdy, read her, great Canadian author. The Romantic is my favourite, but I also have read and enjoyed Mister Sandman and The White Bone (a novel about an elephant)), and Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey. There are also some other books that I started at the beginning of the month and have not got very far with. I will rectify that after I finish some of these.

I can never read fast enough, you know? The other big news of the day? TWISTED KINGDOM relaunch! Yay! If you click here, you can read an announcement from fellow TKer Nath. We have a lot of great stuff planned, so be sure and bookmark or add us to your links. People can always use some more fantasy novels, right? Or is that just me...

Children of My Heart by Gabrielle Roy

Books Completed: 33
Completion Date: February 28, 2007
Publication Year: 2000 (Reprint)
Pages: 176
Received from Random House in 2007
First Canadian Read Completed

Set in the prairies in the 1930s, and rich with the author’s own memories of her time there as a young woman, this is a powerful story of an impressionable and passionate young teacher and the pupils, from impoverished immigrant families, whose lives she touches. Children of My Heart bears unforgettable testimony to the healing power love exerts on the wounds of loneliness and poverty.

I am rather embarassed to say that this is the first time I have ever read Gabrielle Roy. At the beginning of the year I said that I was going to read all the books for the Canadian Reads for 2007, but I have not been making much progress. Then, at the end of February, I got this in the mail and I read it in a matter of hours. So, that is one of the books down, now to find time to read the others!

It is interesting to read historical fiction books of sorts about Canada. This book takes place in the Praires, the other side of the country than where I live, in the 1930s. It is an interesting look at a young teacher who has decided to be a teacher. The book is broken into small section and each section represents one of the early years of her teaching career. It is interesting that in the course of this book she does not make it out of her teens, but yet she teaches for a few years before it is over. It just shows you how different things were not even a hundred years than now. Most people are in their thirties before they have their careers all planned out.

The Praires are suffering in the '30's. Many of the children in her classes do not have very much money or are immigrants from other countries. She very realistically shows how hard it is to be a stranger in a new land, but she also shows how important it was for these parents to have a better future for their children. Education, no matter how little, was everything because parents wanted their children to at least have a better understanding of the world around them. With the early sections, most of the activity takes place in the classroom, but in the last section the teacher finds herself in a different situation with a student. She is not all that much older than him, and he is a considerable amount taller than her. In different situations it might have been a crush, but that would be unappropriate in this setting. Watching the teacher deal with this situation, though, showed me just how young she really was!

It is a very short piece of work, but I thought it was very well-written. I really like to read about my own country, and I do not read enough Candian authors anymore. I used to read a lot more, but reading tastes change I guess.

My special thanks to McClelland and Stewart (a division of Random House) for sending me this book!

4/5

This is the first time I have read this author, but I hope to read more!

Authors Gender:
Male: 6
Female: 27

The Eagles' Brood by Jack Whyte

Books Completed: 32
Completion Date: February 25, 2007
Publication Year: 1994
Pages: 639
Owned Prior to 2007
Book 3 to A Dream of Eagles cycle or The Camulod Chronicles

Born of the chaos of the Dark Ages, the Dream of Eagles produced a king, a country and an everlasting legend—Camelot

Most know him as Merlyn; all call him Commander. Caius Merlyn Britannicus is responsible for the safety of the colony known as Camulod, and for the welfare of the colonists who look to him for guidance, leadership, justice and salvation. Uther Pendragon, the man who will father the legendary Arthur, is the cousin Merlyn has known and loved since their births—four hours apart on the same day, the year the legions left Britain. As different as can be, they are inseparable: two faces of the same coin. In a world torn apart by warfare and upheaval, each is the other’s certainty until a vicious crime—one that strikes at the roots of Merlyn’s own life—drives a wedge between them.

To read my review for this on Twisted Kingdom, click here.
This is the third book I have read by this author. To view the reviews for the other two books click here and here

Authors Gender:
Male: 6
Female: 26

Book Two in the Chunkster Challenge and Book Five in the 12 Months of Fantasy Challenge.

Heir to the Shadows by Anne Bishop

Books Completed: 30
Completion Date: February 21, 2007
Publication Year: 1999
Pages: 496
Owned Prior to 2007
Book 2 in the Black Jewels Trilogy

Enough time has passed for the young girl Jaenelle, heir to the magical Darkness. Her physical wounds have heal, ed while amnesia keeps her frightening memories at bay. But with Saetan--a Black-Jewelled Warlord Prince and Jaenelle's foster-father--to protect her, she will continue to grow. Her magic will mature. Her memories will return. And Jaenelle will face her destiny when she remembers Daemon, Saetan's son, who made the ultimate sacrifice for her love.

To read the review for this book, click here.

This is the second time I have read this author. To read the review for book one to this series, click here

Authors Gender:
Male: 5
Female: 25

Meme

Look at the list of books below: *Bold the ones you’ve read* Italicize the ones you want to read* Leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in. If you are reading this (and haven't participated yet), tag, you’re it!

I reworked the rules. Bold is books I have read, Italized is books on the tbr pile, crossed out books I will never read, and left alone ones are ones that just have not made it on the pile... do I look like I need anymore?

1. The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee) (in my TBR pile)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)(not my kind of book)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry) (in the TBR pile)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving) (in the TBR pile)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte) (on the TBR pile)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott) (plan to reread this year)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel) (on the TBR pile)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte) (on the TBR pile)
28. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck) (on the TBR pile)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert) (on the TBR pile)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand) - no opinion
34. 1984 (Orwell) ( on the TBR pile)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett) (on the TBR pile)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay) (on the TBR pile)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel) (on the TBR pile)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. The Bible - some of it...
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy) (on the TBR pile)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas) - no opinion
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck) (on the TBR pile)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver) (on the TBR pile)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens) - no opinion
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card) (on the TBR pile)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens) (my favourite Dickens so far)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald) - no opinion
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence) (Tried to read and couldn't get into... might try again someday)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough) (on the TBR pile)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky) - no opinion
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand) - no opinion
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy) (On the TBR pile)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis) - no opinion
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller) - no opinion
69. Les Miserables (Hugo) - no opinion
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery) - no opinion
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez) (on the TBR pile)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje) (on the TBR pile)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay) (on the TBR pile)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According to Garp (John Irving) - no opinion
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence) - maybe...
80. Charlotte's Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier) (on the TBR pile)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind) - no opinion
85. Emma (Jane Austen) (on the TBR pile)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams) (on the TBR pile)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley) - no opinion
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck) (on the TBR pile)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96.The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce) - no opinion

Not bad, I have read 46 of them! And a lot more are on my pile to enjoy at a later date.

February in Review

This is the best February in history! Normally February is a very slow reading month for me, but even without the Renaissance plays of death, I did pretty good reading 18 books. It was a mostly fantasy month for me, with the majority of my steps out of that genre being for school.

The boring plays that I read for school were:
The Maiden's Tragedy
The Tragedy of Valentinian
The Spanish Tragedy
Atheist's Tragedy
The Maid's Tragedy

As I said in another post, I am not reviewing them. I do not have much love for them, and I would like to not have to think about them outside of class. On to more interesting stuff.

The most exciting read for me this month? Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs. It was not my favourite read, it was just the book I looked forward to reading the most.

Getting it out of the way quickly, not counting the plays, my least favourite read was Sula by Toni Morrison (review pending). I try! I know that she is great, but this is the second time I have read her, and I am just not her biggest fan! I do not know if I will try again.

Best new author of the month: Tough call... I think I would have to say Robin Hobb. I really liked Fool's Errand and I have another book on deck to read by her.

My favourite read of the month, though, is so hard! There were no fives, and the majority of the books were really good! I do not think I can honestly pick a favourite, sorry for the cowardly way out of not choosing! I was most disappointed by First Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick, though.

Anyways, on with the books!
Back to History Challenge, I read the very disappointed First Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick.

For the TBR challenge, I chose Fool's Errand by Robin Hobb. It has been on the pile for a while, and I am glad that I actually got around to reading it!

The Chunkster Challenge shows me reading another one of the great books by Jack Whyte. I simply love that series so far, and was very happy with book 3, The Eagle's Brood (review pending). Amazon is telling me that this book only had just over 400 pages, I seriously thought it was over 600, but I do not have the book by me to verify. I know that it was longer than 500 pages.

I finally read Heir to the Shadows, which I counted as my 12 Months of Fantasy read. I took a really long time getting around to this book, and I am so glad that I finally did! (review pending)

From the Canadian scene I counted O.R. Melling's The Summer King and The Light-Bearer's Daughter. I plan to read the last book this month as well as another Canadian book. I tried to read the fourth book right away, but I have a very hard time reading the same author right in a row.

I am also proud to announce that I finally have gotten around to reading this years Canadian Reads by finishing Children of my Heart by Gabrielle Roy. (review pending) Thanks Random House! I also read another book from them, The Silver Bough by Lisa Tuttle. That was a very interesting book!

As a result of school stuff, only seven of the books I read this month came off the TBR pile, but that is better than none! I am still seeming to read more female authors than males, which is actually unintentional. I will try to throw some more men into the mix.

The complete list for February:
Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs
An Earthly Knight by Janet Elizabeth McNaughton
The Silver Bough by Lisa Tuttle
The Summer King by O.R. Melling
The Light-Bearer's Daughter by O.R. Melling
Quinine by Fiammetta Rocco
Fool's Errand by Robin Hobb
Wing of Love by Danya Hart
Heirs to the Shadows by Anne Bishop
The Eagle's Brood by Jack Whyte
Children of my Heart by Gabrielle Roy
Sula by Toni Morrison

I will hopefully get caught up on my reviews next week and then I will link it so that all the titles go to their reviews (except the plays). I want to get it done soon because I do not want to get too far behind for next month.

If I was smart, I would pile up the books I read and take a picture instead of using the same three or four book piles over and over again...