Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir In Books by Azar Nafisi (#41, Nonfiction)

This book was a bit of a chore to get through. On the back it says, "Anyone who has ever belonged to a book group must read this book." I disagree. At best, it should have said, "Anyone who has ever read each and every one of the books the author discusses in this memoir might consider reading this book."

I've read Lolita and F. Scott Fitzgerald, but I haven't read anything else by Nabakov, and I haven't read James Joyce, but I have read every Jane Austen novel. These are the authors that are weaved into the story of a tumultuous Iran. A world in which I can't imagine living, that even seems fake to read about. It is really hard to follow her narrating and stories if the reader is not familiar with the book she is referring to -- that is just strike one.

I enjoy being educated and I enjoy meaningful memoirs, but I got really bored reading the continual analogies between Humbert Humbert, Daisy, or Elizabeth Bennet to various people, events, and situations in Tehran. The literary connections that the author constantly tries to make between novels and her life in Tehran felt forced. It was interesting, believable and new at first, but then as she kept doing it chapter after chapter, I got bored and started to skim. I believe that she and many of her students probably did use fiction to escape the extremely oppressive lives they were living, but I think the interpersonal relations she had, with very limited references to characters in novels, would have made for a much better memoir.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (#40, Classic)

I picked this one for book club. I wanted to pick a scary book for our October rendezvous, but, I wanted a classic scary novel, a true psychological thriller. I dedicated many a precious minute to trying to find the perfect book. I'm the book snob, so I can't pick just anything.

The reviews from both critics and readers had nothing but positive (and scary!) things to say about The Haunting of Hill House.

"First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror."

"The Haunting of Hill House remains one of the most important horror novels of all time and certainly one of the most singular haunted house tales ever written."

I wasn't scared. Not on the metro. Not at the gym. Not while I was home alone reading late at night. Not at all.

Do I just lack imagination?

We'll see what the book club critics think, maybe our discussion will give me more clarity on how I feel about the book.

The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt (#39, Nonfiction)

Thanks to some hardcover overstock, I bought this book at Borders for $2.99. It was definitely an impulse buy right by the checkout, but I figure it's not the same as buying a candy bar.

I read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil many years ago. I've been to Savannah many times and enjoyed being taken on a written tour of the Spanish moss lined streets and cobblestone waterfront. Lots of people have stories to tell, somewhere in their past or present, and John Berendt has the ability to get people to open up to him. He did it in his first book, as well as in The City of Falling Angels.

This time he spent X number of months living in Venice. His story begins at the fire at the Fenice Opera House, but quickly grows to include a diverse assortment of Venice natives and expatriates.

It was interesting. I feel more knowledgeable about Venice, but I still don't know what a freaking Doge is!!

Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father by Augusten Burroughs (#38, Nonfiction)

I liked Running With Scissors, I loved Magical Thinking, I am disappointed by A Wolf at the Table.

Not all stories and pasts deserve to be told. I think my issue with this memoir is that I don't fully believe the story and I think Augusten was reaching to have enough for a book. As I stated after reading Smashed, anyone can give a slant to their lives by focusing on ONE event, ONE person, ONE habit. If you focus only on that one thing and relate no other intervening events, situations, happenings, it can seem pretty AMAZING, TERRIBLE, HORRID . . . so on and so forth.

No one doubts that Augusten grew up non-traditionally: we already knew that from his debut memoir. This may come off harsh, but I think Augusten was probably a terribly annoying and needy child, and his dad just didn't give him the attention he wanted. I would venture to guess that he may not have really even liked him-- certainly not a great dad, but I don't know that he deserves the allusions to murder, killing, and hunting throughout the book.

Who knows. Maybe he really was a crazy sociopath, but in the end I don't think what memories and stories Augusten relates were worth being shared.

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (#37, Classic)

It is a book like this that makes me crave for those days back in Portland at Starbucks when Steph and I would sit for hours talking about books. I caught a glimpse of it last weekend. We had few moments to discuss books but somehow we snuck in a conversation here or there within a jam-packed schedule. There are few people I can sit and talk about books with endlessly-- I am fairly certain no one else will ever compare. :)

But, man, this book. I really loved it. There is something so incredible about making a character who you love, hate, despise, understand, and cannot believe her selfishness and charity, all within a single action. And, wow, the Civil War sucked. I felt awful reading about Sherman burning through the south, because in my northern teachings, all the terribleness he inflicted was a sign of victory.

I can't believe I: a) had never read this b) did not know anything about the story (well, other than that scene from Miss Firecracker with Holly Hunter) and c) have never seen the movie. I am SO glad I have not seen the movie-- no doubt it will be a major disappointment, but one I am anxious to experience.

I finished the book at 3AM last night and wanted more.

The Associate by John Grisham (#36, Fiction)

Hello Mr. Grisham, it's been awhile since I've visited your works of fiction. I'm sorry to say that this was not your best showing.

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like his books are written with the intent to be turned into movies? I could almost see famous actors in the roles as I read. Scarlett Johannson or maybe Kate Bosworth as Dale, Shia LaBeouf as Kyle, etc etc. And the way his chapters are set up are perfectly formulated for changes of scene, and the sort of back and forth in time. It's a bit FORMULAIC shall we say.

Hindsight's a bitch, but I think this novel falls last in the line of other Grisham novels I have read. Sorry buddy, you dropped the ball here.

The Likeness by Tana French (#35, Fiction)

Another suspenseful, murder mystery by Tana French. The anger I felt at the end of In the Woods was assuaged when I found out she already had a second book out using the same characters. But, turns out Ms. French plans on taking her sweet time to unlock the mystery she never revealed in the first book -- meaning, she gives absolutely no closure to the first book! And, in essence she shuts the door to it, but I don't really believe that!

But, about The Likeness. It was good. Not the spitting image of her first book, which is always nice. It wasn't as creepy as the first book, nor did it have any "supernatural" potential to it. As you read on the back, Cassie goes undercover to pretend to be a girl who was murdered. Yes, they look alike, but there is a bit of the really factor. You really think someone, no matter how much they look like you, could step into your life and your friends and family wouldn't suspect?

Read it and find out if she succeeds....

The Woods by Harlan Coben (#21, Fiction)

I promise this is the last Harlan Coben novel. And yes I did read it back in Maine. I cannot blame it on my vacation.

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella (#20, Chick Lit)

And for the plane ride home I borrowed Remember Me? from Jess and unfortunately got so into the story that I finished it before we landed. This meant that I had to endure the worst eardrum pain upon our descent into Boston and I only had Jeff Corwin's documentary about elephants to distract me from the pain.

I do like Sophie Kinsella's chick lit contributions and might even read another one soon, but not so soon. Remember Me is about a woman who gets amnesia and wakes up in a hospital with a seemingly perfect life that when looked at more closely is not so perfect. Cliche? Absolutely. But oh so satisfying.

The Innocent by Harlan Coben (#19, Fiction)

Alright, so I became obsessed with Harlan Coben toward the end of my German adventure. You get so absorbed in the story that you can sit for five hours straight and just read and then voila! you're in Berlin already. I will have to remember Coben for future trips and beach vacations--he would make an awesome beach read for sure.

But the curse with these types of books is that you'll always love the first one you read and none of the others will ever be as good. I learned this years ago, as I read many Nancy Drew and Sweet Valley High books. None are as sweet as that first one that whets the reading appetite.

Gone For Good by Harlan Coben (#18, Fiction)

Becky you would be proud! I finally gave in and let out my love for crime novels. This is my first Harlan Coben novel and it was very entertaining. I think I read it in a day. These types of books are great for day trips on the train! Other than that, there is not much to say about this book.

Jemima J by Jane Green (#17, Chick Lit)

After reading those two heavy hitting, sad books I needed something a little lighter. Well--maybe a lot lighter. Jane Green's Jemima J was just what the doctor ordered. Not only is Jessica's bookshelf stuffed with quality reads, but she also has an ample amount of chick lit to satisfy any girl power/romantic story craving.

Sarah read it first and gave it a thumbs up so I figured I probably wouldn't completely hate it. Formulaic yes, but I don't read this genre nearly enough to get sick of said novels. I enjoyed Jemima J's weight loss story. I liked her online dating and her new look and persona and couldn't wait for her to find her prince charming at the end.

The Shack by Wm. Paul Young (#16, Fiction)

The bus ride back to Germany was not spent eating special brownies smuggled in from the Green House but rather reading The Shack, that religious novel about a man who meets God in the shack where police find evidence that his daughter was brutally murdered. Not a typical book I would read, this one also came highly recommended by both Sarah and her sister. And being on vacation, I was game for anything.

I approached this one with a skeptical eye and I am still not sure what I think about some of the viewpoints expressed in it. But I was not immune to the hard hitting emotional nature of the story and found myself blubbering yet again on a bus, trying to hide the fact that I was balling from my fellow passengers. That man with the cane was surely looking at me with scorn as I sniffled through chapter after chapter.

There were some good quotes in this book but I definitely found it to be strangely simple for me. Is religion always this simple? You have these tenets of belief and you believe them and that is that. Is that faith? Believing in something you can't prove, something you can't see but something that you may be able to feel? Faith in God can give us hope, it can make us feel strong when we are going through tough times. I don't know how I would deal with the death of a daughter. The man in this story has to deal with this and he has this experience that in the end allows him to see his daughter and to know that while she died a horrific death far before her time, she was not alone and she is now happy in heaven, waiting for them to meet her in the afterlife. All the father wanted to know was that the daughter was okay. He needed closure and he found it.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay (#15, Contemporary Literature)

I'm still in Europe at this point, reading my way across Belgium and the Netherlands on our way to Amsterdam...

I started the third book, Suite Francaise but never finished it. It was a bit too dry and Sarah’s sister Jessica had far too many other more interesting, trip friendly books for me to borrow, or so I thought.

Sarah’s Key was my next pick. I read this on the bus ride to Amsterdam and cried like a baby at the end, wiping my tears on my scarf, trying not to look like a blubbering idiot on our big yellow tour bus. I should have known it was going to be a tearjerker but that didn’t stop me. Both Sarah and Jessie recommended it to me and who am I to resist the opinions of two seasoned readers?

I have read a lot of Holocaust themed novels in my time, and while some seem to blur together, Sarah's Key definitely stands out. De Rosnay bases her story on the events of the 1942 Paris roundup and deportation of thousands of Jews. 13,152 Jews were held in the Vélodrome d'Hiver for 8 days. There were no bathrooms and the only food and water they had were what the Red Cross managed to bring to them. Those that survived the inhumane conditions in the dome were sent to an internment camp in Drancy until they could be deported to Auschwitz for extermination. Sarah's Key is the fictional story of one of these Jews. It is chilling, horrifying and definitely could have happened.

Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd (#14, Historical Fiction)

Right after I finished Irving, I picked up Edward Rutherford’s Sarum, a novel I have checked out from the library at least three times over the last five years and have always failed to even crack the spine on. 1000 pages is a pretty huge time commitment and I just never had that much time on my hands to devote to a novel I was maybe only minimally interested in. (That said, Diana Gabaldon's novels are always the exception and I will pretty much always be able to dive into her 1000 page novels about Jamie and Claire, without hesitation.)

But alas, when you become a traveler, you find yourself with many free hours to kill on trains, planes and buses. Suddenly a 1000 page fictional history of Salisbury, England isn’t all that daunting anymore. And reading a history seemed quite apropos as I was flitting about Europe, visiting places similarly brimming with history. I especially enjoyed the descriptions on how the masons built the massive cathedral; we had just climbed to the top of the Cologne Cathedral a couple days before I read that passage and it gave me a better picture of just how much skill and craftsmanship went into building those structures.

Not only did I enjoy the incredibly detailed descriptions of life in England over the last 3000 years, I really became obsessed with the genealogy. It was really interesting how Rutherfurd creates two strong family lines and then passes down the family characteristics to each generation. It made me wonder about my family tree and what might have happened to my great-great-great grandparents. Who were they, what did they do and where did they live? If only we all had detailed descriptions of our family's legacy.

The Cider House Rules by John Irving (#13, Contemporary LIterature)

I know, I know--I haven’t posted a book on here in a couple months. It has been so long that I think I may have forgotten a book or two. I started a post about Geraldine Brooks’ People of the Book but somehow got sidetracked and never went back to finish it. And then I traveled to Germany for a month and didn’t have solid blocks of time on the Internet to be able to post while I was over there. And then having been back stateside I have been so busy working and catching up with life that I have let my participation slide. But fear not three faithful booknymph readers…I am back! I haven’t stopped reading—I have just run out of time to post about my literary exploits.

Right before I left for Germany I made a trip to Longfellow Books, one of the coolest used bookstores in Portland, and grabbed three throwaway paperbacks to accompany me on my travels. I didn’t really give much thought to what I would want to be reading and the three novels I found were The Cider House Rules by John Irving, Sarum by Edward Rutherford and Suite Francaise by Irene (insert). Sadly I never made it through Suite Francaise but the other two I did thoroughly enjoy reading.

I have never been a fan of John Irving but when I saw The Cider House Rules on the shelf at the bookstore in a handy dandy small paperback edition, I felt compelled to pick it up and read it. And so against my previous prejudice, I gave Irving another chance—he did not disappoint. I loved this novel and spent the four-hour ride to and from Cologne buried in the world of Homer Wells. Irving is a great writer and I have no idea why I wrote him off after I read Widow For One Year back in the summer of 2004—clearly my reading tastes have changed. I will definitely be reading some of his other novels.

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan (#34, Fiction)

Another book club pick. As I have stated time and again, I am always a fan of historical fiction/fiction/nonfiction blend. There is nothing better than reading while also learning about someone, something, or someplace.

In Loving Frank we learn about the life of Frank Lloyd Wright and his mistress Mamah Borthwork Cheney. I just finished the book last night and have yet to do my standard Internet search about the life and work of Frank, but, WOW, do I have some questions!

But, about the book. I really enjoyed the first hundred pages. The characters pulled me in, the story was intriguing, and you really feel the pain of Mamah, and the arrogance of Frank. I wavered back and forth about what I would do in their situation. Clearly, these days divorce and families being torn apart is almost typical, but at the turn of the 20th century, a woman not in love with her husband had limited options.

I think the whole philosophical discussion behind the women's movement got a bit boring for me. Mamah is on a constant journey to find justification and validation for her actions, for leaving her children. At the end she seems to have an epiphany that she doesn't have to choose, she can have love for Frank and love for her children, but it seems that during that time period women were almost forced to choose.

But, wow. THE. ENDING. Did not see that one coming.

The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan (#33, Nonfiction)

Michael Pollan examines the history of and coexistence between humans and Apples, Tulips, Marijuana and Potatoes in The Botany of Desire. I will never think of Apples the same way, and may hestitate before I eat a potato from this point forward.

At times boring, and others extremely informative, and even laugh out loud, it is a book worth reading if you want to think about the place fruits, vegetables and flowers hold today. And it makes you think about how they got there, and whether they are what they are because of their own Darwinian survival of the fittest, or because humans do what they want, when they want, where they want.

Pollan doesn't just examine the biological history of these objects, he looks at them from a philosophical angle as well -- hard to imagine, right? But, I actually found myself folding down a few pages to mark various quotes and excerpts from the book. (will insert those later)

Once again I am on a health kick. Maybe even trying out being a vegetarian, not that he suggests it, but more because of the implications of living off our current food system. It is just not right that companies have patents on fruits and vegetables, that it is illegal to reuse some seeds, and coming up with a potato that generates its own internal insecticide is going too far.

Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson (#32, Fiction)

Out Stealing Horses is one of those books where major events happen, events that could be the central point, or apex, of the novel, but in the end they are just another part of life--never fully resolved or explained.

I definitely don't recommend this one if you are looking for an exciting book. It's a great story, and the writing is very well done, and there are some dramatic things that take place, but it's all sort of anticlimactic.

Although, I'm not complaining. Sometimes it's nice to read a book and just read along without waiting for "something" to happen. I was happy enough to follow the narrator through his solitude and memories from his past.

A Lady's Pleasure by Renee Bernard (#31, Porn)

I debated whether or not I would document the fact that I read this book. I initially said I wasn't... but, I've put up every other book I have read for the past 2+ years, no need to get shy now.

I have nothing to say about this book. This was picked for a themed book club. It was amusing for about two seconds, then meh. What little kid says, "when I grow up I want to write trashy romance novels"? Apparently Renee did.

I don't know the exact statistics, but based on my anecdotal evidence from working at Barnes and Noble, the majority of genre purchases are SciFi and Romance.

Shocked and appalled.

But, book club was great as usual and sadly I think we spent more time discussing this one than any book to date. We may also have had a read aloud session ... maybe...

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (#30, Fiction)

Oh the potential. I bought this book in hardcover because I was so excited about my second round with Carlos Ruiz Zafon. And the disappointment. Expectations, too high? Maybe. I really loved The Shadow of the Wind, and so did almost everyone in book club who read it, which is a huge feat with our diverse taste in books.

My new thing is to read reviews, and The Angel's Game consistently comes up short of The Shadow of the Wind. But, to give Zafon some credit, the point at which the plot in his new book diverged on a more diabolical and mystic path is where he lost me. In Shadow you feel the mystery, and you wonder about supernatural forces, but in the end it's all real--spooky, but none of that sci-fi stuff. Not so much the case in this one.

I do really enjoy his writing and general style. Funny, clever, descriptive.

I hope his next book can do a better job of tying things up at the end... I'm still confused!

A Person of Interest by Susan Choi (#29, Contemporary Literature)

After finishing A Person of Interest I wanted to find a review, to see what others had to say, and quickly turned up a New York Times review. First of all, I loved the review and I pretty much 100% agreed with it. Secondly, as I was thinking about the book this morning and reflecting on how I felt about it, one word came to mind -- Metamorphosis, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the reviewer used this word as well!

Professor Lee, the main character and narrator, goes through major changes in character throughout the book. He is an extremely flawed character, and although he is a brilliant man, at times it is hard to take how dense and unlikeable he is acting! The reader goes through phases of like, dislike, pity, and finally redemption and hope.

It is one of those books that is so well written that you will be surprised how much you liked it once you get to the end. You realize you weren't speeding through it to find out what happens, because you kind of already know. Instead you are reading along to witness the metamorphosis of Professor Lee.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (#28, Fiction)

I wasn't as impressed by this book as I remember being by The Kite Runner. It could just be a case of hindsight, or maybe the hundreds off books I've read in between that have obviously changed my taste in books.

The nonfiction nature of the setting to Hosseini's books is enlightening and terrible to imagine. The bloodshed and terror that so many Afghans have lived through for so many years, so much so that it probably becomes part of the routine of their lives, is unbearable. I appreciate any book that can teach me some part of history, or give me a better understanding into another culture.

But, I didn't love the story of this one. It felt more hurried and canned than his first book. I had too many predictions of how things would go... and then they happened exactly that way. I guess I just expected it to be a little bit deeper, harder, slower of a read, less a page turner and more a thought provoker.

Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo (#27, Classic)

A couple quote worthy lines from the book:

"Nothing is bigger than life. There is nothing noble in death."

"America fought a war for liberty in 1776. Lots of guys died. And in the end does America have more liberty than Canada or Australia who didn't fight at all?"

In this anti-war novel, published in 1939 and set during WWI, Joe leaves Los Angeles to go to war and ends up in a hospital bed as an invalid. But not any invalid, Joe has had both his arms and legs amputated, he cannot hear, cannot speak, and cannot see. Yet, his mind is alive and he spends his time trying to figure out day from night, memories from dreams, and some way to communicate with the world.

When his tap tap tapping of Morse code for "help" is finally understood by the hospital, all he gets in return is a "what do you want?" The years he spent trying to let them know that he may be nothing but a stump on the outside, but that he was alive on the inside and ready to show himself to the world to show what can happen during war was all shot down with their final response, "That is against regulations."

Just a bit depressing.

Smashed by Koren Zailckas (#26, Nonfiction)

It's hard to review this book. A book that in one moment feels so familiar-- sounding like stories I have heard, things I have seen, and, rarely, things I have done myself. But, on the other hand, her thoughts and reasons for her actions are so foreign.

It was amusing to read the book, especially the college years, because I realized how universal the "college experience" can be, whether you are at Syracuse in freezing New York, or at Emory south of the border. Many of her stories had me laughing out loud because I could have passed them off as my own (second hand of course).

I wavered back and forth between thinking she actually had a drinking problem, to thinking she was just a dumb young girl who made too many poor choices. I sort of felt like she was a fake. If I were to take eight years of my life and write down all of the funny and/or stupid stories and not write about anything else that I did, then it would probably sound like I drank too much too. But, I guess what made her drinking a problem was her reason for doing it. She drank because otherwise she was unable to function in social settings--that I do not relate to.

In the Woods by Tana French (#25, Fiction)

My obsession with In the Woods almost reached my Twilight obsession level. Two totally different kinds of books, similar levels of obsession--reading while walking!!! Who does that?

It's practically impossible for me to not get completely invested in crime scene/investigative books like this--all stemming from my love of CSI, Law and Order, Criminal Minds etc. Tana French had me hooked from the second I read the back, no question.

The story was well thought out, not too convoluted, you could actually figure out part of the mystery on your own. I didn't figure it out until close to the end, probably at the point where most people figured it out for sure, but I felt proud nonetheless.

Let's talk about my hangups. (you may not want to read from here on if you plan on reading this book) OH MY GOD when I snapped this one shut I was INFURIATED. Absolutely, not falling asleep, never reading her again infuriated! I ran downstairs to discuss the ending with my roommate, but she was in a sleepy haze on the couch and did not satisfy my bitching needs. Who ends a book like that???? My Mom, a huge reader, had already warned me in a message, "I read the book last summer and really enjoyed it, until the end." At the time, I didn't even want to think about not liking it, because I was enjoying it so much.

Once 12 or so hours had passed I was less worked up, but then started discussing it with my mom, and was right back at square one. At that point I decided to look Tana French up online to see what other readers had to say--were they as mad as I was? I found a synopsis of her second book, just released in May, The Likeness--which initially I figured I would definitely read as well, but at this point, TOO INFURIATED. Then I saw it: The same names. The same characters. Her second book begins six months after the first one concludes...she has just started a series... it all makes so much more sense! It would be like reading just one Harry Potter book without knowing it was a series!

Fury? Gone!

Although, I haven't had to sit around and wait for the next book in a series since Harry Potter, I'm not sure how I feel about this.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers (#24, Nonfiction)

When I saw that this was our bookclub pick I got pretty excited. I have been meaning to read Dave Eggers for some time now, and I have heard from more than one person that this book is great--maybe even their favorite book of all time.

I immediately loved his random banter-type writing. You feel like he is talking to you, not writing a book. I really enjoyed his story-telling and style for the first 200 pages, but then it turned a little too random and stream of consciousness for my liking towards the end.

Dave Eggers is definitely a unique writer and story teller, I don't think he is for everyone, but he is definitely worth checking out. Even though I may not have loved his style throughout, his story is certainly out there and one worth telling.

He is one of those writers that you want to meet in person. He has had a crazy life, and yet he comes off as so normal in the book--no addictions, a good role model to his younger brother... but you wonder, is he a little quirky or totally messed up?

Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon (#23, Fiction)

Book #4 of the Outlander series. I can't believe I have made it this far. Although, I feel quite content with my place in the world of Jamie and Claire.

In the past I have either been vehemently against continuing the series, or almost Twilight-esque sure of reading the next book. At this point I feel quite apathetic about it--I may, I may not. Right now I'm leaning towards no, but who knows, I could be at the book store or library in search of that easy, absorbing book where you know EXACTLY what to expect. And that is when Outlander #5 could come into play. (yeah, I don't even know the title of the next one)

Side Note: I introduced this series to my old roommate Liz. I felt that I gave her the appropriate warnings and had been exposed to enough of her reading habits, and her open mind to books, that there was a chance she could enjoy it. Apparently, her sister saw her reading it, and said, "You are reading Dirty Diana!" Yes, apparently she had been accosted on the beach for reading a book by the author known as: Dirty Diana.

Echo Park by Michael Connelly (#22, Fiction)

Can you imagine how many books I would read in a year if all I read was murder/mystery series? Seriously. Even though the book is over 400 pages, I can still breeze though it in three days max. I could read over 100 books in a year!

But alas, quality over quantity. I really haven't got much to say about this book. For it's genre it fits the bill and didn't make me feel like I was slumming it. (I just came up with that--book slumming it. Steph-- it's our new phrase! I love it!)

The main character is likeable and the writing is not terrible. The story was interesting with a nice little twist at the end.

It passes my guilty pleasure standards.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (#21, Fiction)

Normally I am hesitant about bestsellers. I will read a bestseller but I will go into it with low expectations. I had heard so many positive reviews about Water for Elephants from people I trusted that my expectations were way higher than normal.

Happily, it was a success! I think Sara Gruen can write a lovely story--it was simple, but well done. She also did her homework. Although the book is fiction she takes many factual accounts and stories and weaves them into a story of her own.

My two favorite parts about the book are the twist that works out so well, and the love of animals that many of the main characters have.

I am entirely satisfied with this as a bestseller and will happily read Gruen in the future.

Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction by David Sheff (#20, Nonfiction)

Truth really is stranger than fiction. Or maybe just sadder and more heartbreaking. Beautiful Boy is a tale that all parents hope to never call their own.

Nic Sheff grows up in a fairly typical fashion, loved by two parents who end up getting divorced when he is young. He is happy, athletic, smart, friendly, curious, and a great big brother until drugs take over his life.

David Sheff, his father, shares the story of Nic's addiction to drugs and alcohol--mainly methamphetamine--from high school through his mid-20s.

The worst part about the book is that it doesn't end. There is no magical cure. Even after two to three year stints at a time of being clean, Nic always returns to drugs. Just when you think he finally has his life in order and has overcome his addiction, he relapses. No low seems low enough to stop him from going back. David candidly shares his thoughts, frustrations, and the blame he places on himself for his son's path, as well as the toll it has taken on his personal and professional life.

Nic, also a talented writer, has published the story of his addiction--Tweak. As someone who never exceeds recommended dosages, dislikes prescriptions, and would rather have terrible allergies than take a daily pill, I am interested to read from Nic's perspective. I just hope that someday I will find out that he is still clean and has been for years, but after reading disappointment after disappointment in Beautiful Boy, I know the odds of that are not good.

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (#12, Contemporary Fiction)

What is my deal? I have been reading books and then promptly forgetting that I have read them. Why I completely spaced out and didn't blog about Geraldine Brooks' People of the Book is beyond me. I actually really liked it and would definitely recommend it to friends--in a non Prep-like way.

The main character is Hanna Heath, an Australian manuscript conservator and the story basically arcs around her restoration of the Haggadah, a Jewish illustrated prayer book. Every time Hannah uncovers some detail or odd thing about the ancient book, we are thrown back in time and we get to find out what really happens. I found myself skimming Hanna's parts just so I could get to the neatly crafted historical chapters. I really liked the piecemeal way Brooks tells the story of the Haggadah. Definitely worth reading!

The Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullen (#19, Fiction)

I brought this book back with me from my Mom's house in Florida a couple of months ago. I must have quickly skimmed the back and felt that it met my standards. When I finished the last book I was at home and no longer have my library card, so I had to choose from a book on my shelf. I grabbed The Last Town on Earth to check out the back cover, and I couldn't believe that it is a historical fiction novel about the Spanish Influenza outbreak of 1918.

Quite apropos, right? After the recent outbreak of swine flu it seemed like the book was just waiting for me to read it. With my job, one would think I have had an overload of epidemics, emergency preparedness, and reminders of the shortcomings of our health system, but I'm a glutton for punishment. So of course I decided to read a book about people dying from the flu-- and to be expected it has re-intensified my fear of people sneezing and coughing in public!

Apparently, the author found an article about how many towns in the Northwest quarantined themselves in an effort to keep the flu out in 1918. He ran with that and concocted a story about the idyllic and peaceful town of Commonwealth unraveling after making the decision to not let anyone in or out until the flu passed.

One of my major critiques of the novel is that it seems like he weaved in too many themes. Of course there is the fear of the flu, but then there is also the war going on and the town is mostly anti-war. Many of the men in town either did not register for the draft or have been spared as necessary workers. They are living and working happily secluded until they make the decision to quarantine themselves.

The author highlights the fact that when people are scared and backed into a corner they will do things you could never imagine. Commonwealth, a town built upon communal values and nonviolent resolutions becomes a free-for-all, each man for himself, and suspicious and blame filled place after the flu enters.

Escape by Carolyn Jessop with Laura Palmer (#18, nonfiction)

I found this book completely riveting. The writing and actual story-telling ability were mediocre at best, but the underlying story is just so out there, and she does an amazing job including tons of specific details and stories. I was hooked.

I am completely fascinated by extremist groups, specifically those that exist in the United States. In high school I did a report on the incident at Ruby Ridge. That was back before the whole Internet craze, so I actually had to read books about the incident.

The story is of Carolyn Jessop, who was born into a polygamist family. At 18 she married Merrill Jessop, 50, and became his fourth wife and went on to have eight children in 15 years. She details her entire life, and the abuse, neglect, and oppression that finally caused her to flee the cult. (Merrill Jessop went on to father over 100 children!)

After I finished the book I quickly googled "Warren Jeffs" and boy was I in for a treat. I got to watch videos of him--he looked absolutely nothing like what I thought he would look like, I imagined him older, and fatter. Here he is with one of his brides.

I also got to watch videos from the raid of the Yearning for Zion (YFZ) ranch in 2008, and interviews with practicing members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS).

I would recommend the book to anyone because it's just so amazing that this took place in the 21st century.

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner (#17, Classic)

I believe that I have evolved as a reader by plowing through this one. Remember Virginia Woolfe and my distaste for that little literary technique she is so well-known for--STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS? Well, guess what Faulkner is so special for? Yeah. You guessed it--confusing the hell out of the reader.

The book is broken down into four chapters, all narrated in a different voice, and all taking place on different days. That seems simple enough, but throw in steam of consciousness, no punctuation, moving forward and backward in time with no heads up, and that makes for one confused bnizzle.

After reading the first chapter I had a fuzzy idea of the plot. I was aware that it was being narrated by the special needs brother, and I knew his narration jumped around in time, and I got that he had a special connection with his sister Caddy, but beyond that a lot escaped me. I was lost and confused and not all that interested in continuing.

So, I went online and found the wikipedia and sparknotes websites about the book. Is that cheating? Did it ruin it for me? At first I thought maybe yes to both, but honestly, I think it was the only move I could make to salvage the book for me. I went back into the book, with three-quarters left to go, and I knew who was narrating, what they were thinking, and what was going to happen, and it made the book way more enjoyable, and a more manageable puzzle.

I don't know that I will pick up another Faulkner book soon, but I have definitely not written him off.

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (#16, Contemporary Literature)

Ignatius J. Reilly is quite possibly one of the most memorable characters of all time. Infamous may be the best way to describe him or possibly ridiculous and most definitely infuriating! Sometimes he says things that made me laugh out loud, and others made me want to throw the book down in annoyance.

I highly recommend this book to most people. Apparently it is classified as a "guy book." I'm not sure I can adequately explain what that means, but I think I would probably have to agree. There is a lot of potty humor, which I generally don't find all that entertaining, but somehow it works and doesn't come off in a slap stick manner. We read it for book club and we discussed this theme, and a lot of the other girls agreed they don't normally find potty humor funny, but somehow John Kennedy Toole made Ignatius gross, and disgusting, but did not lose all his civilized female readers. :)

There are a ton of great characters and themes and it all ties together at the end. It was funny in such a clever way. It really is too bad that this is his only book.

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (#11, Contemporary Fiction)

How can it be that I have never read Toni Morrison? Her first novel, The Bluest Eye, has been on my list for a while. And yes my friends, it is an Oprah Book Club pick. In fact, Morrison is the most recurring author on that list with which I have had an ongoing love/hate relationship with.

My book club voted this one as our April read, but as we all started to read it, we all decided we didn't like it. It is kind of an unpleasant book; there isn't anything in it to lift the spirits and inspire you. It is what Morrison intended; a hard, unflinching look at the wide reaching effects of slavery on into the 20th century. The slaves were emancipated from their physical chains, but what about the emotional ones? The characters in this novel struggle with the paralyzing white ideals of beauty. Pecola is the subject of the novel, the specimen we have to study and watch unravel as she eeks out an existence that can barely be considered such by our modern day standards. It's not a small wonder that none of us particularly like this book. There is incest, child molestation, and other similar horrors. And there is no happy ending here.

On a technical note, Morrison is a great writer and I enjoyed the slow unfolding of the story through multiple points of view. I further illuminated the villainous characters and you couldn't help but be both disgusted by and sympathetic to them.

Perfume by Patrick Sueskind (#10, Contemporary Literature)

I am not one to forget which books I read and the order that I read them in, but somehow this one slipped my mind! Sarah got me this book for Valentine's Day and I thoroughly enjoyed it, even though I had to take a break in the middle of it to read the horrendous Jane Green novel, Second Chance.

Patrick Süskind's Perfume is perhaps one of the strangest stories I have ever read. Oddly enough, it was the book I read right after Jitterbug Perfume and you can imagine how much my mind was swimming in smells and scents and all things olfactory. Perfume is the story of THE supernose, which is someone (generally a man) has a nose that can detect the minutest of scents that go into perfumes. I don't want to describe too many details because I think I would have enjoyed the book much more had I known very little about the premise.

Perfume is historical, weird, gripping and oddly creepy. It will make you start to analyze the scents that make up your own world and it will make you yearn for the perfect perfume. If only I had a bottle of the ultimate perfume...

Thank You For Smoking by Christopher Buckley (#15, Fiction)

I saw this movie almost exactly three years ago. Wow, was that really only three years ago? It feels like a lifetime. Anyway.

A co-worker said the book was much better than the movie, so I figured I'd check it out. I enjoyed the movie, the satire of the subject is pretty ridiculous, (that is satire, right?) and I enjoyed the book as well.

It is pretty awesome reading a book set in the city in which one works and lives. I envisioned Nick walking down Rhode Island Avenue, enjoying the cherry blossoms like I have been doing this month, and I can picture him scurrying around the Mall covered in nicotine patches and being picked up by some cop on a horse! That's not the way it happened in the book, but I really like the horse cops, so that's going to be my version.

The book is a quick read. Very entertaining, and full of messed up and crazy characters. I really enjoyed how Buckley wrote the southern accents--"Ah'd lak to thank Mistuh Nayla fuh his courage in attendin' today's hea'ngs." How great is that? I can just read it over and over again and actually hear some dirty old Senator speaking.

If you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend reading the book first! And if you have seen the movie, why not read the book?

The Law of Dreams by Peter Behrens (#9, Contemporary Lit)

A fellow English major turned bartender recommended Peter Behrens' The Law of Dreams, a book that I most definitely would never have picked up of my own accord. This just isn't the type of book I would normally go for. When Baylis mentioned it to me initially, I was uninterested and wrote it off as a book about a topic that I wasn't really into reading about. But then she continued to rave about it and brought it in for me to borrow and I gave in to peer pressure.

I was immediately sucked in though, as Behrens is a great writer. His descriptions of Ireland are so gritty and detailed that sometimes I could almost smell what Fergus, the main character, was smelling. The Law of Dreams tells the story of a young Irish boy orphaned by the potato famine and his subsequent journey to America. There is nothing pretty or uplifting about this story. Tragedy seems to follow Fergus where ever he goes and he seemingly has the worst luck with women. Based upon the characters in this novel, I would tell you never to trust a red headed lass.

Behrens conducted a lot of research for this book, which was very, very loosely based upon his own family history and toward the end, when Fergus was making the crossing to North America, definitely made me think about my own Irish heritage and when my own ancestors made a similar crossing. I'd like to know the Collins story. How did we end up in Alabama? When did we cross the ocean? Do we even know these facts about our family history?

The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (#14, Classic)

Apparently everyone and their dog read this book between the ages of 8 and 13. Not me. I waited until I was good and ready at 28.

It's short, it's easy, and it's about the civil war. The book is very descriptive--but I found it really hard to envision the scenes he was describing. There is very little dialogue or story line other than the thoughts of a youth in the midst of his first battle. I did find the theme of abandoning very interesting, and something that has always been missing in all the war books and movies I have read and seen.

I think that this may be one of those books that can be adapted very well to screen, so I am definitely planning on seeing the movie.

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink (#8, Contemporary Literature)

Sometimes I read books and halfway through I start to wonder why it took me so long to find them. How is it that I am just now reading Bernhard Schlink's The Reader? An Oprah's book club book, I read this one fairly quickly even though it was one of those books that makes you want to take your time and savor the writing. I really enjoyed Schlink's style; it is abrupt and brutal and simple, yet almost always beautiful.

This was March's book club pick and probably my favorite book of the year. Controversial and thought provoking, I enjoyed whetting my literary chops on this one. I found myself slipping back into English major mode, questioning everything and trying to figure out my stance on just what Schlink is saying.

Set in Germany in the years following the Holocaust, The Reader tells the story of a love affair between a former concentration camp guard and the teenage boy she helps one day on his way home from school. Part one is slightly unsettling and a little hard to swallow at times but the portrayal of this young boy's love for this older woman is gripping, as is the impending fallout their love affair causes.

My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler (#7, Nonfiction)

This was an impulse purchase from the Buy 1, Get 1 Half Off pile at Borders. I thought maybe I would laugh a lot and get some tips to have my own crazy horizontal life but alas, all I got was a less funny, less satisfying female version of Tucker Max. Handler's stories in My Horizontal Life are not that funny. There is potential for goodness here, but I might have only cracked up twice while reading this book.

Maybe I am just not a fan of Chelsea Handler. Maybe if I watched her show on E! I could appreciate the humor more but I found myself cringing at the poor quality of the writing. Her stories were believable in the sense that they were so boring and pointless that they had to be true. Why else would you write a book with really boring stories of your so called crazy sexcapades? Some stories had such potential for true hilarity but most just fell flat. I mean there are midgets and jungle fever and poop stories. How can you go wrong? Apparently, you can.

Tess of the d'Urbervilles (#13, Classic)

You know what Thomas Hardy likes? Murder. I had a sneaking suspicion that Alec was going to bite the dust at some point, but the ending was... um... different than Far From the Madding Crowd.

Poor Tess, so good and pure, is ruined thanks to one night. And, the events of the night are defined depending on how the reader interprets the situation--was it rape or was she seduced? Either way, her life according to Victorian standards is completely tainted.

The story has the Romeo and Juliet type theme--two young people intensely in love, but you know their happiness is going to be short lived. Deep down Tess knows that Angel will not forgive her for her past, yet she is unable to keep it to herself. Should she have told him? What would you do?

Overall I didn't love the book. It was much more dark, depressing, and desperate than my other experience with Thomas Hardy. I have a really hard time with novels from this time period where the characters have happiness within reach, but because of societal pressures it slips away, and what would have been bliss and prosperity turns into death and hardship.

Woman in the Dark by Dashiell Hammett (# 12, Fiction)

I went to the library last week with the intention of picking up a few books. I left with ten. Two of the ten are over 1,000 pages.... yeah, I think I have a problem. My eyes are always bigger than what I can handle--pretty much when it comes to anything... food, books, plans... you name it. I guess I'm just an eternal optimist.

Dashiell Hammett is the author of The Maltese Falcon, which was on my list, but it was not there so I grabbed this instead. If you have ever seen an old school murder mystery movie like The Maltese Falcon or Rear Window, that is exactly how this book reads. I could just imagine a dark and drizzly night with a woman in 40's styled garb running down the street with an erie voiced narrator introducing the scene--very twilight zone-esque.

It was a quick and enjoyable read. Apparently there is a movie based on one of the characters in the book, so I think I will have to see what that is all about.

Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner (#11, Chick Lit)

Oh dear what was I thinking? I read Good in Bed years ago and found it falling far from my taste in books.

I need to get something off my chest about this author. It may come off bad, but I just don't relate to overweight characters in books--and that is a theme that I believe is present in all of her books. In Little Earthquakes I probably liked the character (of course her name had to be becky) less because she was described as obese. Does that make me a horrible person?

But, that was not anywhere near the forefront of why I wouldn't recommend this book to most people. First off it's about four women about my age, but they all meet in a yoga pregnancy class... yeah, the book is about babies, husbands, affairs, balancing work and family--not exactly up my ally. It was moderately entertaining with some nice friendshipy type scenes, but Weiner's writing is so mediocre. Actually I would say it's 75% mediocre and 25% bad.

I have purposely been avoiding Weiner since 2002 when I read her first novel, but I fell prey to this sitting on my mom's bookshelf in the guest room. I knew what I was getting myself into, but sometimes you just gotta read the fluff.

The Emperor's Children by Clair Messud (#10, Fiction)

Um. So, you know how Holden from The Catcher in the Rye really bothered me? Well, I feel like this author stole from J.D. Salinger and put Holden into this book. Not a complete plagiarism, but Bootie is way too reminiscent to not make the connection, at least for me.

I really did not like this book. I tried. I really tried to like Danielle, and maybe Julius, but I just couldn't do it. Everyone was just too into talking nonsense. If there are people out there that actually talk like they do--so philosophical and meaningless-- then point me in the opposite direction!

The book sleeve makes it sound like it could be fairly apropos for someone my age and in my place in life. Will I ever find someone special, and will I ever find something that sets me apart and I can really make a difference in the world? But, the author just makes these really annoying, self absorbed, stupid, lazy characters who are too busy looking for perfection and are therefore above anything but perfection in the meantime.

I read this for book club, so I'm definitely interested to see what others think of it. I have yet to talk to anyone who really liked it, I'm thinking it's going to be less than enthusiastically received.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver (#9, Nonfiction)

I really enjoyed this book. So much so that I think I have been boring people with stories, anecdotes, and slightly uppity behavior when saying things such as, "Where did you get THOSE strawberries? I bet THEY are not Local." (imagine me with my hands on my hips and a bit of a swagger)

This book was really interesting to me for two specific reasons. First of all, this was kind of my life. I didn't live for one whole year on only local foods, but I did have a gigantic garden that was like a second job for everyone in my family, and we ordered the cute itty bitty turkey chicks to raise for Thanksgiving. And let me tell you--Kingsolver is dead on when she says it doesn't matter if you name those chicks, because they get ugly fast. Ugly. Real Ugly. Seriously. Yet, regardless of how gross they grow up to look and what a mucky, disgusting mess they turn their living quarters into, I think I would have disowned my parents if they made me participate in the whole beheading of the turkeys, no gracias.

Secondly, I found that reading this book was perfectly timed because I am planning on having my very own garden at my new apartment! So, next winter if you want some delicious homemade pesto I am where it's at! (fingers crossed!)

I definitely hope to follow some of her habits, and hopefully I will have a smaller carbon footprint because of it.

The 2-Hour Tarot Tutor by Wilma Carroll (#6, nonfiction)

I have my roommate to thank for getting me into Tarot cards. She blew my mind when she read my cards this summer. I kid you not but the cards really did reflect everything that was going on with a boy at the time. The cards also predicted the outcome which is both scary and cool. And although Sarah uses a different deck, she sparked my own personal interest in Tarot cards.

I found Wilma Carroll's The 2-Hour Tarot Tutor at the library and didn't realize how great a book this is for teaching one to read the cards until I actually started to read it. It teaches you to look at the cards and "say what you see." That is more important than trying to memorize the meanings of the cards. Carroll reiterates her point hundreds of times in the book and I really do think this is an advantageous way to learn how to read the cards.

I also like her use of numerology and how she relates it to the cards. After calculating my personal number for the year of 2009, I was blown away by how accurate it was! Especially since last year's personal number was a 9, which means it was a time of endings, which it really was.

I have been browsing through other Tarot card books but this is the only one that I have been able to read cover to cover. I will be sad when I return this to the library--it has proven to be a useful resource.