February 2008 Reads

5. Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman - Rating: 8
[Unread Authors Challenge]

6. Mother of Pearl by Melinda Haynes - Rating: 2
[Unread Authors Challenge]

7. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer - Rating: 8
[Unread Authors Challenge]

8. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen - Rating: 7
[Book Awards Challenge]

New Authors Read = 3
Male Authors = 0
Female Authors = 4

The Book Thief

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Finished March 12th, 2008

Rating: 6/10

Book Awards Reading Challenge Book #6

Missing In Action

I had my baby about 6 weeks ago so needless to say I haven't had much time to read or blog. I did manage to finish 2 books since he was born and am working on my third and am hoping to continue to read about 2 books a month. I will likely not have much time to write reviews so I am thinking I will just rate the books out of 10on my blog going forward until I have more time on my hands to do reviews.

Water for Elephants

Water for Elephants

Finished February 26th, 2008

Rating: 7/10

Book Awards Reading Challenge Book #5


Synopsis

As a young man, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the great Depression, and for Jacob, now ninety, the circus world he remembers was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was there that he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great gray hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and, ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.


An entertaining book however I was not blown away by it. I did find it difficult at times to read about some of the animal cruelty that takes place in the book. It was a good solid book but not a page turner for me.

Unread Authors Challenge Completed

I completed the Unread Authors Challenge about a month ago but haven't had a chance to update my blog with a summary. I really enjoyed this challenge as I got to read books by new authors. There was only 1 book I really disliked and I ended up finding some new authors to read going forward such as Stephenie Meyer and Anna Quindlen.

I have many books sitting on my shelves by authors I have never read before so this is the perfect challenge for me.

The Challenge will run from September to February 2008. The challenge is being hosted by Sycorax Pine and more details can be found on her blog. The rules are:

1) Read six books by authors you have never read before.

2) You can choose one or two (or 3-5) unread authors and read several of their works, or you can choose six neglected (by you) writers and read a book apiece by them. Authors of fiction, non-fiction, genre fiction, graphic novels/comics, drama, and poetry are all welcome inclusions, although the individual works you choose should be book length.

My list for this challenge is:

Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards [completed Jan. 21st, 2008]
Mother of Pearl by Melinda Haynes [completed Feb. 7th, 2008]
Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman [completed Feb. 3rd, 2008]
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer [completed Jan. 29th, 2008]
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer [completed Feb. 11th, 2008]
Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen [completed Jan. 7th, 2008]

New Moon

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

Finished February 11th, 2008

Rating: 8/10

Unread Authors Challenge Book #6





From the Publisher
The "star-crossed" lovers theme continues as Bella and Edward find themselves facing new obstacles, including a devastating separation, the mysterious appearance of dangerous wolves roaming the forest in Forks, a terrifying threat of revenge from a female vampire and a deliciously sinister encounter with Italy''s reigning royal family of vampires, the Volturi. Passionate, riveting, and full of surprising twists and turns, this vampire love saga is well on its way to literary immortality.


Although the Cullens were missing for most of the book I still enjoyed the storyline with Jacob. I found the love developing between Bella and Jacob to be much more realistic than the love storyline between Bella/Edward. I found Bella to be really annoying and weak until she started to develop a relationship with Jacob. After that she was much more tolerable. I ended up enjoying this one slightly better than the first so it got a higher rating.

Mother of Pearl

Mother of Pearl by Melinda Haynes

Finished February 7th, 2008

Rating: 2/10

Unread Authors Challenge Book #5


From Barnes & Noble
Set in the Deep South in the late 1950s, Mother of Pearl vividly brings to life the extraordinary inhabitants of the small town of Petal, Mississippi. Central to the novel are the stories of Even Grade, a 28-year-old black man abandoned by his mother at birth, Valuable Korner, a 15-year-old white girl whose family history holds a trunkful of damning secrets, and Joody Two Sun, an enigmatic obeah woman who sees into the hearts and minds of the townsfolk from her riverside camp on the outskirts of town. Cast in a tragicomic passion play, Even, Val, and Joody find their destinies entwined as they search for the love and family that they have always been denied.


I knew about 60 pages in that I didn't like this book but I have this compulsive need to finish books that I start, I really need to get over that as the book never got any better. I found the writing to be confusing as it jumped around a lot. I didn't enjoy the storylines at all and just found it to be so boring. My first bad book of the year, hopefully they will be few and far between going forward.

Here on Earth

Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman

Finished February 3rd, 2008

Rating: 8/10

Unread Authors Challenge Book #4



From the Publisher
March Murray, along with her fifteen-year-old daughter, Gwen, returns to the small Massachusetts town where she grew up to attend the funeral of Judith Dale, the beloved housekeeper who raised her. After nearly twenty years of living in California, March is thrust into the world of her past. She finds that Mrs. Dale knew more of life than March could have ever suspected; that her brother Alan, whose tragic history has left him grief-stricken, has turned to alcohol as his only solace; and that Hollis, the boy she once loved, is the man she can't seem to stay away from.


This one was another winner for the Unread Authors Challenge. The author does a good job of making you care about the characters even though it is very difficult to like them. She takes you through a myriad of different emotions throughout the book as she allows the characters to grow even if the reader does not like the path in which they are growing. If you are looking for a happy ending, you are not going to find it with this book however it was very good read.

January 2008 Reads

1. Mary Mary by James Patterson - Rating: 7
[Reading the Author Challenge]

2. Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen - Rating: 9
[Unread Authors Challenge]

3. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards - Rating: 6
[Unread Authors Challenge]

4. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - Rating: 7
[Unread Authors Challenge]


New Authors Read = 3
Male Authors = 1
Female Authors = 3

Twilight

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Finished January 29th, 2008

Rating: 7/10

Unread Authors Challenge Book #3



From Barnes and Noble

17-year-old Isabella moves to a small town in Washington State and gets more excitement than she bargained for when she falls for an enigmatic classmate -- who happens to be a vampire.


I was really excited to read this book as my fellow bloggers seem to have nothing but rave reviews for this series. I am also a big fan of the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer so this book was right up my alley. The book was good however I was not blown away by it as I expected to be. I think my expectations were so high I couldn't help but be a little disappointed. The writing was a little weak and I found the interaction between Bella and Edward to be somewhat odd. It just seemed liked all of sudden they were in love with each other. I may be in the minority but I don't think the author did a good job of conveying how the love developed between them as I didn't buy it at times. A good book but I wouldn't say a great book.