You Have To Kiss A Lot Of Frogs

Um, You Have To Kiss A Lot Of Frogs? It was a frog. But not a magic frog. I tortured myself and finished it, because I kept hoping it would get better. Somehow. But it didn't. It's gone. I can't believe I spent $4 on it. Ugh. Maybe I'm too far removed from it...I don't know...because it got some good reviews on Amazon. But I didn't like it. It was just not me.

It Sucked and Then I Cried

October...almost there...

I have followed Heather B. Armstrong's blog, dooce.com for a long time. I wanted to get the book when it first came out and didn't and then I forgot about it.

And then I found it in the bargain section of the bookstore.

Even though it's a pretty serious subject, I found myself laughing a lot. I recognized the early days of having a kid. I loved the voice. I'm trying to convince Alex to read this...actually, if you have kids or might have kids one day, this is a great book that honestly addresses postpartum depression.

And this is why I should post these as soon as I read the book...I can't remember anything else!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

SPOILER ALERT (but I think most of you have already read these books)

This is September's second book. I devoured it after I read the Half-Blood Prince. And then I was done with Harry Potter for a long time I thought. It's December and I'm already thinking it's time to reread these. I've read the Deathly Hallows three or four times now and every time I discover a whole bunch of things I didn't notice before (or at least that I'd forgotten). There is so much packed into those pages that I feel like I have to read it a few more times before I grasp all of it...

And now, as an aside, I need to talk about the movies. And how the last three really piss me off. I feel like they left out a bunch of details that were important. Like the horcruxes and Dumbledore's pensieve. And where was Harry's Mokeskin pouch? And why didn't he repair his wand at the end of the movie? I hated the final battle scene. And the lack of evacuation of Slytherin and subsequent return of Slughorn and the humanity that takes over the Malfoys and the way they kill Voldemort and I could go on and on and on. I know that there is so much in the books that there was no way it could all be in the movies, but I really feel like there were some key things missing...

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

SPOILER ALERT (but I think most of you have already read these books)

Okay, so we're finally into September and with September comes the end of the Harry Potter series.

I reread the first four books of the series so many times that I could recite the plot lines in my sleep. I can tell you what happened in the Order of the Phoenix but not in as much detail as the other books. When I get to the Half-Blood Prince, I find myself thinking, oh, I didn't know that or gee, I forgot that.

Half-Blood Prince is so dark and there is so much information packed into it. I know it annoys some Harry Potter fans that the concept of the Horcruxes isn't introduced until this book, but like so many of the other devices J. K. Rowlings uses, they're well placed.

I liked how the relationship between Harry Potter and Dumbledore grows in this book and I like how Dumbledore is real. He made some big mistakes where Harry is concerned and he acknowledges them. The relationship between a teacher and a student is always tricky, especially if there is a potential for (real or perceived) favouritism.

I still cry every time I get to the end. I hate that Dumbledore dies. I hate that Snape kills him. I hate that Snape kills him even though I've read all of the books and I know what really happens. I hate that Dumbledore didn't tell Harry the curse was killing him. And I hate the funeral. It feels real and raw and it makes me cry again. I can't read the end of this book when J is around because it worries her (yes, I found that out the hard way. I thought I could control my tears, but apparently I can't). 

I feel like I should go back and reread the series, but I think I need to go back and just read books six and seven a few times so that they can catch up with the rest of the books in my brain!

The Help

EDITED TO ADD: SPOILER ALERT IN THE COMMENTS

Oh look, a break from Harry Potter!

I saw The Help a long time ago in the bookstore and read the back and thought, hmmm, I might want to read that. But I was still on the book diet, so I put it down and figured that I'd ask for it for my birthday or borrow it from someone or visit the library. And because there are eighty million books out there to choose from, I promptly forgot about it (that's how excited I was to read it).

Then Alex and I went to a movie. In the movie theatre. And it had trailers. And because we went out like regular grownups, we watched the trailers. And one was for The Help. And I thought, hmmm, I might want to read that.

And then it was my birthday. And then it was summer. And then I was in the bookstore after going out for dinner with Alex the day after being sent home from the emergency room for the second time and we stopped at the bookstore on our way home, as we often do. Weird? Maybe. Maybe not.

And I saw The Help sitting there. And the book diet had been lifted. And I was feeling miserable and pathetic and sorry for myself, so I decided to engage in a little retail therapy. Okay, maybe a lot of retail therapy. And then I came home and a couple of days later all the internets could talk about was The Help (I think maybe because of the movie...but seriously, it felt like two out of every three blogs was talking about The Help)

I enjoyed it. I didn't really get the Gone With the Wind or To Kill A Mockingbird comparisons, but did enjoy the book. I felt like the relationship with Stuart was somewhat underdeveloped and I wanted more about it (not more relationship, just more about his previous relationship and his motivations...)

The end felt a little too contrived for me. It was as if she didn't want to go with a happily ever after ending, so she threw if off a bit, but it didn't feel right...anyone else feel that way?

I would recommend The Help for sure. I will be reading it again, when I get it back from my mom!

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

If Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is possibly my favourite Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is one of my least favourite of the series. This is the book that created all the hype that eventually led to me finally and reluctantly to read the first three books.

But it's too long. There's too much description (I can't believe I just wrote that). I like the plot. I wish there was more Sirius in it, but I understand why there isn't. The descriptions of the tasks are great. But it's too long. I know. I said that already. And it's heavy. I have the hardcover and it's hard to read in bed. And because of the weight, the binding is starting to loosen.

(Yay! I made it to August. I should be caught up by Christmas at this rate!)

The Disappeared

Oh, July book number two, The Disappeared by Kim Echlin, you were tough on me. I read the first half very quickly and then it languished beside my bed. I'd read a couple of pages a night and give up. I'm not sure what it was. I think it started when Anne went to Cambodia and found Serey. You can sense the foreboding from the beginning, but it becomes overwhelming once Anne gets to Cambodia and starts to (she thinks) settle in.

I don't know about this book. I loaned to my sister, so we'll see what she thinks...I finished it during the week that started all the crazy health stuff, so it may have just been the wrong time to be reading this book...

Has anyone else read it?

31 Dream Street

Oh look, we're into July! This is the book that ended the book diet and all challenge rules pertaining to said book diet. I picked it up for a whole $2 at the big box bookstore one evening. And I read it all the next night.

Lisa Jewell's 31 Dream Street is a typical British chick-lit book. It's set in London and, predictably, it made me homesick. Of course it did. I don't learn! It wasn't horrible, but it also wasn't the best chick-lit I've read recently. I felt like the lives the people in this book were living were more normal and less high-drama than a lot of books. I had trouble keeping the characters in the house straight for the first ten pages or so and then it sorted itself out. It was predictable, but how it got there wasn't. But in the end, the puzzle pieces all fell together.

I liked the use of the letters to set the scene and I liked the quirky characters. There were some I didn't like much and some I really wanted to meet...

It was a good, quick, easy read. Perfect for the beach. Or the couch. I still have it and it's going to get donated unless someone (local) wants it. I think it would be perfect for a wet, rainy, Vancouver Saturday or Sunday. With a cup of hot tea and a little plate of chocolate covered McVities digestives. Yum.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Okay, so let us go back in time a bit. To June. I finished this book very late at night on June 30 and just barely squeezed in my two books. Harry Potter is my go-to set of books when I get in a reading funk but it took a while to kick in this time...As always, I enjoyed this book. Nothing new or surprising popped out at me, but there is something comforting about a familiar friend!

PS Excuse the horrible photo...

When We Were Strangers

I picked up When We Were Strangers because it was the book Laurie's book club over at Crazy Aunt Purl was reading in, oh, February.

Because of the parameters I set for myself in this challenge and the book diet, I requested the book from the library. I was the first one to get it, but it didn't make it into circulation until May. And it's taken me a few weeks to read it. At one point I put it down and thought I wouldn't be able to finish it. But I'm glad I kept going because I did quite enjoy it in the end! My only frustration with the story was that although the author did a good job of describing her characters, I still had a hard time picturing them. I'm not sure why ... maybe because I mostly read before bedtime and my brain was shutting down? I don't know...

Opi, Irma's village, is in the same region that my maternal grandmother's family was from - it is a very beautiful part of Italy...we spent part of our honeymoon there (although we were pretty much on the opposite side of the region)

I enjoyed the book...I like how Irma learned from what happened around her and in most instances made positives out of very negative situations...and I love how she adapted her sewing skills into a completely different career. I liked that the ending wasn't all happily ever after except that it was...that like doesn't make sense but if you read it, you'll understand what I mean.

The discussion over at Crazy Aunt Purl in March is here and there is also a Q&A with Patricia Schoenewaldt over there too.

The Courilof Affair

I have really enjoyed everything else I’ve read by Irène Némirovsky, but this one not so much. I didn’t not enjoy it, but I loved Suite Française and quite enjoyed Fire in the Blood. I had to keep reminding myself that this was a completely different book – it is most certainly not set in the French countryside.

Interestingly, because it was set in Russia, pre-revolution, my brain kept turning back to The Kitchen Boy (which I also enjoyed immensely and has absolutely nothing to do with this book or this author.

Because I read this a month ago, I don’t think I have anything else to say about it…I’d like to read it again, maybe not when I’m tired and it’s late at night…

City of Fallen Angels

Hi. Do you remember me, blog? I’m your writer and reader. I fell off the face of the earth for a while. I wish I could say it was because I was reading, but I can’t. But I’m back now.

I read my two books in May, I just never got around to posting them. Actually, I read both before the first week of the month was up. I thought I was going to have a very productive month, book-wise, but no. May kicked my butt. And not in a good way.

Anyway, City of Fallen Angels is the fourth book in Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series. I got sucked in by the first book and now I’m addicted. I got to read a very nice new copy of the book though – I was probably the first or second person to borrow my copy from the library.

So, what did I think? Well…it was good. Until the last chapter. Something is up because there’s no way the characters would have allowed what happened to happen. I was talking to a friend who has also read all four and she felt the same way. The characters are too smart and would have been too cautious in a situation like that to do what they did. I don’t want to give it away because, well, there would be little point in reading the whole book if I told you the last chapter.

The only thing that has my hopes up is that at the end of the first book a devastating secret was revealed, but through a series of twists and surprises by the end of the third book (I don’t think it’s the second) it turns out the secret wasn’t quite accurate…

But it’s a good book. Read the first three first and if you can, read the first Infernal Devices book, Clockwork Angel. It’s not essential, but it explains some things quite well…

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

It was time…I hadn’t read any Harry Potter for a very long time and this week I became engrossed in the first book…which means the next six will likely follow quickly!

I picked up some interesting things – like the part where Harry offhandedly mentions that it feels like Snape can read minds…There’s a lot of foreshadow that I had never noticed before – some of it might be coincidental, some of it isn’t. This is why I love Harry Potter – every time I read one of the books, whether it is book one which I’ve read countless times or book six or seven which I’ve only read a handful of times, I find something new!

Goddess for Hire

Okay, before I start, I owe the Fred Factor a few more words...I think I hit post and I wasn't finished or I saved it to finish later, but I hit post by accident (I can't remember...it was too long ago) because I told you nothing other than read it!

The Fred Factor is a motivational book (I've decided) that bases its message on the story of Fred the Postman. Basically Fred provided exceptional customer service to the people on his route - held onto their mail while they were away, kept an eye on their property, was super friendly and very devoted to his job. The message is that we can all be a Fred in some way, every single day. I loved the book. I loved the message. I did not like the Christian Bible stuff that snuck into the last pages, but I'm willing to overlook it because I liked the rest of the book so much...and I've been asking myself almost every day since I read it "Was I a Fred today?"

On to Goddess for Hire. Which is a totally different kind of book. Try chick lit. Bad chick lit.



Basically unemployed, spoiled Maya who lives in LA is the incarnation of the goddess Kali. And she keeps it a secret while tries to harness her powers. At the same time her family (of doctors) is trying to set her up with an Indian husband. Who she hates. And he hates her. Do you get where this is going?

I don't recommend it. It's in the pile for the thrift store. I finished it over 10 days ago and kept forgetting about it. I didn't really like it...I didn't hate it, but it was too mindless for me...

Clutter Rehab

I discovered the Org Junkie website a few weeks ago and decided to do the 52 weeks of decluttering challenge. And then I discovered the writer had a book. I had to wait for a while to get this book - very popular at the library - and when I did get it, it only took a few hours to read it. It was good and I thought I'd actually go out and buy a copy (I couldn't do that before or it wouldn't count for the challenge!) but as often as I've picked it up in the last few days, I decided I didn't need to go buy it...not right now anyway. I'm trying to reduce my clutter, not add to it. And the website has pretty much all of it on it...I do like holding the little book in my hands though...we'll see, I might cave. But for now, I'm just going to try to keep renewing the book!

If you're trying to organize your life or your home or your office, I totally recommend your book. And if you're one of those well-organized people I aspire to be, I still recommend this book - she had some great tips and we can all use great tips!

City of Glass

I had to wait for a couple of weeks to get this book, the third book in the Mortal Instruments series. I read it a lot slower than I read the other two - partly because I was too tired to read into the night and partly to make it last longer. Yeah right. It lasted four days.

Just before I go on, there are SPOILERS below the picture for the first two books in the series. If you don't want to know what happens, don't read any further. Actually, there are SPOILERS for all three books...so yeah. You've been warned.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!



I liked this one as much as I liked the first two...although I wish I had the first two nearby so that I could check things...it was fine. That doesn't mean that you need the first two for this one to work, but I certainly would have liked it. Because I read City of Ashes a few weeks ago and I read most of it long past my bedtime, I just needed a refresher on some of the stuff that was going on.

I was so glad to see the Clary/Jace romance problem resolved. I felt from the time it was revealed that they were sister and brother that they weren't. There seemed to be hints indicating otherwise and it just felt impossible. This series didn't feel like it was trying to be Flowers in the Attic, so I knew somehow, somewhere, it was going to be revealed that either Jace or Clary was not Jocelyn and Valentine's child. I'm so glad I was right about that.

Anyway, I recommend this series for sure. Now I have to wait until April 5 for the next book to come out and then I have to wait for it to be my turn on the list at the library. Although, I do have Clockwork Angel to read now - the first in a prequel trilogy.

City of Bones

First of all, I need to stop taking pictures with my phone...camera takes much better pictures. Secondly, I need to stop reading way past my bed time...I'm too tired and my books run out too quickly...

But that's not the point.

This book was awesome and you'll soon (probably some time tomorrow) see that I devoured two of them in three days. I'm waiting for the third one to come through the library system.

This book totally reminded me of Harry Potter even though it's very different from Harry Potter. Clary discovers she's actually a Shadowhunter when she sees a boy killed in a club and when her mom goes missing, things get interesting. The first book is all about her discovery of her "new" life and all the secrets that go along with it...I can't wait to see what happens in the third book. I love the characters - Jace and Simon are both very interesting - especially the things that Clary finds attractive in each of them.

So yeah, since I went straight from one book to the next with barely time to sleep, I definitely recommend this book!

Savvy

I'm not sure what drew me to Savvy...maybe the fun cover! I did notice when I was at the library searching for something else the other day that they had about six more copies of this book, so apparently it is (or at least was) a popular book. And it has a Newbery Honor seal on it.

Basically Mibs belongs to a family of people who learn what their special gift, or Savvy, is on their 13th birthday. One of her brothers makes electricity, one creates crazy weather patterns, her grandpa makes earthquakes. Mibs' 13th birthday falls just after her father is in a terrible accident. The local minister's wife decided Mibs needs a party, but Mibs just wants to see her father. She and two of her brothers and two of the minister's kids end up in a pink school bus with a pink Bible salesman on a crazy, detouring trip...and she figures out what her Savvy is...she can hear people's thoughts through their tattoos or writing on their skin.

Part of having a Savvy is to learn how to scumble it...which basically means control and suppress it...Mibs has to learn how to tune out the noise to hear what is important.

In the end they make it to the hospital, but not without first having a few adventures and having some secrets revealed...

I liked this book and I would definitely recommend it - especially to a 10 -13 year old girl - there's lots of important stuff about growing up in there.

I decided this one was a kid lit book too because Mibs turns 13...I can't see someone older than about 14 reading it...so it's not quite a YA novel (even though I found it in the YA section).

Oh, and I discovered there is a companion novel - Scumble - so I will be keeping an eye out for it the next time we're at the library!

Crazy Love

Okay, so I'm probably going to be hated for this, but I did not enjoy this book at all. UGH. I actually put it down. Went back to it. Still disliked it intensely. Skimmed through it. Disliked it even more.

And I feel like I should at least like it, if not love it. I'd never heard of David Martin before, but from what the internet tells me, people wait with bated breath for his latest book. I couldn't find a single negative review about this book.

I'm not going to go as far as to say I hated it, but I didn't like it. Nope. Not at all. And I can't even put my finger on why. The characters seem to be well developed. The story line isn't overly complicated or hard to follow.

So, here we go, 2 months into 2011 and I have two books on the list of books I'm not going to finish. I still feel a bit guilty, but I'm trying to remind myself it's just a book and I don't have to like every book I pick up...

I got this book in a stack from Alex's dad before Christmas. There were about 10 books in the stack and most of them were pretty much new. Like I don't think the spine had ever been cracked on this one...I hope the rest are better received by my brain.

Darkwing

When I worked somewhere that I don't work now, I was fortunate to be involved (peripherally) on a project involving Kenneth Oppel's book Silverwing. I read the trilogy and I enjoyed it - I think I need to reread it though because I remember Firewing being more difficult to follow than Silverwing and Sunwing...but that's not anything to do with this book. You can find some clips of the show on YouTube.

Anyway. Darkwing.


I've been meaning to pick this book up for a while - not only is it another Kenneth Oppel bat book, but there are dinosaurs. And I was going to be a paleaontologist. I was. Really.

Anyway.

I really enjoyed this book - it was a fairly quick read, but it was good. There were some pretty big themes in the book - discrimination and stereotypes being two of them - but they were dealt with so well, they were almost invisible. I'd like to reread Silverwing for sure now (I think it's in my bookcase!) because I felt like maybe I remembered some of those themes being the same...

The naming of the animals was well done - particularly the leader of the Felids being called Patriofelis, the rogue, meat eating Felid, Carnassial and his eventual mate Panthera. I love names...

This book is definitely worth picking up...