Eat Pray Love

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Finished October 31st, 2007

Rating: 6/10

Armchair Traveler Reading Challenge Book #3



From Barnes & Noble
Oddly but aptly titled, Eat, Pray, Love is an experience to be savored: This spiritual memoir brims with humor, grace, and scorching honesty. After a messy divorce and other personal missteps, Elizabeth Gilbert confronts the "twin goons" of depression and loneliness by traveling to three countries that she intuited had something she was seeking. First, in Italy, she seeks to master the art of pleasure by indulging her senses. Then, in an Indian ashram, she learns the rigors and liberation of mind-exalting hours of meditation. Her final destination is Bali, where she achieves a precarious, yet precious equilibrium. Gilbert's original voice and unforced wit lend an unpretentious air to her expansive spiritual journey.


When I first started this book I thought I was really going to like it but then after about 50 pages it started to go downhill for me. I enjoyed reading about Liz's experiences in Italy and Indonesia however I found the India piece boring.

I watched the Oprah show when the author was on and I really liked hearing about Liz's experience firsthand. However, I found the book didn't strike the same chord with me as hearing the story firsthand from Liz.

B is for Burglar

B is for Burglar by Sue Grafton

Finished October 20th, 2007

Rating: 6/10

Book Awards Reading Challenge Book #4


From the Publisher
Elaine Boldt is missing, and her sister wants Kinsey Millhone to find her.
Seems like a routine job. Boldt was last seen lavishly draped in a $12,000 lynx coat heading for Boca Raton. She never got there. But someone else had, and was camping out illegally in Mrs. Boldt's abode. Now, things were beginning to seem a bit less routine - particularly when Kinsey is ordered to drop the investigation just as she discovers that days before Elaine Boldt "bolted", her next-door neighbor and bridge partner had been murdered. Unfortunately, the killer is still at large . . . and looking for Kinsey!

The last 60 pages redeemed this book for me as the beginning and middle part of the part was so slow. If it weren't for the last 60 pages I would have rated this book much lower than a 6 out of 10.

I would like to see some more development of the character Kinsey as I feel like I don't know her yet and this is the 2nd book in the series that I have read. I know there are many more books in the series so I am hoping the author does a better job in future books of providing greater insight to Kinsey and what makes her tick.

Decades Challenge Completed

I have completed my 5th challenge. I am glad I signed up for this challenge as it motivated me to read classics however I think I have had enough of classics for a while.

I have signed up for another Challenge over at 3M's Blog. It is a Decades Challenge which runs from January 1st - December 31st, 2007 where you are to read as many books as you want in consecutive decades. I have decided to do 9 decades. The books I have chosen are:

The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls - 2000s [completed March 17th, 2007]
The Loop by Nicholas Evans - 1990s [completed March 27th, 2007]
Love in the Time of Chloera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - 1980s [completed April 14th, 2007]
The Terminal Man by Michael Crichton - 1970s [completed July 14th, 2007]
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - 1960s [completed May 26th, 2007]
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger - 1950s [completed October 12th, 2007]
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers - 1940s [completed August 22nd, 2007]
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - 1930s [completed September 22nd, 2007]
A Passage to India by E.M. Forster - 1920s [completed June 17th, 2007]

The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Finished October 12th, 2007

Rating: 7/10

Decades Challenge Book #9 (1950s)



From the Publisher
Since his debut in 1951 as The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has been synonymous with "cynical adolescent." Holden narrates the story of a couple of days in his sixteen-year-old life, just after he''s been expelled from prep school, in a slang that sounds edgy even today and keeps this novel on banned book lists. It begins, "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you''ll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don''t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them." His constant wry observations about what he encounters, from teachers to phonies (the two of course are not mutually exclusive) capture the essence of the eternal teenage experience of alienation.

This was the first book I had read by Salinger and I really enjoyed his writing style. The book is character driven as opposed to plot driven. It was a pretty easy read and I enjoyed the Holden character but it ended too abruptly for my liking however I enjoyed it more than most classic books I have read.

2nds Challenge

Joy at Thoughts of Joy is holding another challenge to take place after the Non-Fiction Five Challenge called the 2nds Challenge.

WHAT: Read 3 books by authors that you have only read one other

WHERE: Mister Linky will keep track of monthly books read on Joy's blog

WHEN: October, November and December, 2007

The books I have decided to read for this challenge are:

Ambler Warning by Robert Ludlum
Life Support by Tess Gerritsen
Chosen Prey by John Sandford

Sam's Letters to Jennifer

Sam's Letters to Jennifer by James Patterson

Finished October 3rd, 2007

Rating: 6/10

Reading the Author Challenge Book #1




From the Publisher
Jennifer returns to the resort village where she grew up to help a beloved relative-and ends up experiencing not one but two of the most amazing love stories she''s ever known. The first is completely unexpected. In a series of letters that Jennifer finds, her relative reveals that she has concealed a huge secret for decades: Her great love is not the man she was married to for all those years. As Jennifer reads about this passionate partnership, she learns more about love's imperatives and secrets than she ever dreamed possible. And then comes the biggest surprise of all. At a time when she thought she could never love again, Jennifer lets her guard down for a moment-and is suddenly caught up in the greatest flight of exhilaration she's ever known. But, just as suddenly, she learns that this new love comes with an unbearable cost.Jennifer doesn't think she can survive the pain-but the letters she's been reading make her think that love may help her find a way.

This was a very quick read and was pretty enjoyable but I found the ending rushed. I thought I liked it more than a 6/10 however after finishing and thinking about the plot and storyline it wasn't really that good but only about average. I didn't enjoy it as much as a similar book by Patterson called Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas.

Book Reviews

I hate to admit it but I am getting kind of tired of doing book reviews on my blog. I dread finishing a book because I know once I am done I have to do a review. So you may notice that future reviews are short and to the point until I am up to doing longer reviews.

September 2007 Reads

47. The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory - Rating: 8
[Armchair Traveler Reading Challenge]

48. Dispatches from the Edge by Anderson Cooper - Rating: 7
[Non-Fiction Five Challenge]

49. Seizure by Robin Cook - Rating: 6
[Medical Mystery Madness Challenge ]

50. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood - Rating: 8
[Dystopian Challenge]

51. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - Rating: 7
[Decades Challenge]

52. At Risk by Patricia Cornwell - Rating: 3
[Medical Mystery Madness Challenge ]


New Authors Read = 3
Male Authors = 3
Female Authors = 3

Medical Mystery Madness Challenge Completed

My 4th challenge is done. I was disappointed with 3 of my 4 picks however I found a great new author that I wouldn't have found if I hadn't signed up for this challenge.


A Medical Mystery Madness Challenge is being hosted over at Caught Between Worlds and I have decided to join which makes this my 4th ongoing challenge.

WHAT: Pick anywhere from 2 or more medical mysteries/thrillers to read and discuss with fellow medical thriller fans.

WHEN: June 1st, 2007 to November 1st, 2007

I have decided to read 4 books for this challenge which are:

At Risk by Patricia Cornwell [completed September 26th, 2007]
Shock by Robin Cook [completed June 14th, 2007]
Seizure by Robin Cook [completed September 9th, 2007]
Harvest by Tess Gerritsen [completed June 21st, 2007]