I read A LOT this year. If anyone is looking for a book to read I hope I can be of some help :) Here's the books I read with small reviews, in no particular order:
"A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens : Classic! I try to read it every year. Dickens' has a rare whit.
"The Snow Bride" by Debbie Macomber: Pretty lame, actually.
All 7 books in the Harry Potter series: I think I enjoyed them even more the 2nd time. They're so much fun and I'd forgotten how much has been left out of the films.
"The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson: Yet another in a series of classic horror novels in which I laughed really hard while reading. I don't know if I have a really morbid sense of humor or what, but this book was really entertaining and really creepy at the same time.
"The Persian Pickle Club" by Sandra Dallas: This was a fun book. The characters were a lot of fun and the story kept me guessing. Also, I had an even greater desire to learn to quilt afterwards.
"The Road" by Cormac McCarthy : Wonderful book. (Personally don't think the film will be able to capture it at all, but I'll probably go see it anyway) The story scared me, made me think, and made me act in getting my food storage organized.
"The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown: I love the character of Robert Langdon! I love Dan Brown's attention to detail and his amazing research. However, he hasn't been able to top "Angels and Demons" for me yet :)
"Fablehaven" Books 1-4 by Brandon Mull: The first book was pretty slow but I was invested enough to finish it and was glad I did. The other 3 in the series were so good and exciting! Yes, they're kids books, but I enjoyed them and can't wait for #5!
"Rilla of Ingleside" by LM Montgomery: This is book 8 in the Anne of Green Gables series. Though I'd read the first 6 Anne books a couple of times I'd never gone on. I'm so glad I did! This is a great story. It was fun to watch Rilla grow and mature and I learned a lot about WWI.
"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini: Kind of depressing yet eye opening. I wanted to go adopt a bunch of children from the middle east at one point. I almost gave up on it because it was upsetting me but I wanted the main character to redeem himself which he eventually does.
"The Last Templar" by Raymond Khoury: Fast paced and exciting, but the story was pretty "blah".
"Jane of Lantern Hill" by LM Montgomery: A really fun, light read. I fell in love with Jane and wanted to be able to make a really good pie crust :)
"The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" by John Boyne: I rarely say this, but this is a MUST-READ. I cried, but it was worth it.
"You: On a Diet" by Michael F. Roizen: Good info!
"The Giver" by Luis Lowry: I'd also give this one a MUST-READ review. So interesting and thought provoking.
"Jane Austen Ruined My Life" by Beth Pattillo: I really loved this book. Not only are there references to Austen's work, but it was a nice, clean story and I ended up learning a bit about myself!
"The Associate" by John Grisham: Classic, exciting Grisham!
"The Autobiography of Santa Clause" by Jeff Guinn: Fun book! I thought Guinn was very clever in the way he intertwined historical characters.
"Shopaholic Ties The Knot" by Sophie Kinsella: I love the "Shopaholic" books! (Never saw the film) It sounds silly but I'm being honest when I say the first book was a bit life changing for me. I was horrible with my money before reading it!
"The Appeal" by John Grisham : This story was different for Grisham because it takes place after a major trial and focuses on the appeal process. It was interesting and I found myself getting frustrated with the legal system.
"16 Lighthouse Road" by Debbie Macomber: The first book in the Cedar Cove series. A fun, light chick-lit book.
"Rainbow Valley" by LM Montgomery: Book 7 in the Anne series. This one is about Anne and Gilbert's children and their adventures. Love it!
"A Walk to Remember" by Nicholas Sparks: My first Sparks novel; I really enjoyed his style and the story is so sweet.
"Golf: Lessons I Learned While Looking for My Ball" by John Bytheway: Taking up golf with my hubby has put me in a whole new world and I'm loving it!
"1776" by David McCullough: Very well written book with a ton of info!
"True Believer" by Nicholas Sparks: I like his style and I like that they're clean books while still being romantic. But this story was fairly slow moving.
"The Phantom Returns" by Stefanie Cole : I loved the original Phantom of the Opera novel by Leroux so much that I gave this one a try. It was...okay. I'm convinced it was written by a fan of Gerard Butler's because the phantom ends up the hero and Raoul is made to look like an idiot.
"The Christmas Basket" by Debbie Macomber: The two mothers in this book were hilarious!!! I think everyone knows women like them.
"Skipping Christmas" by John Grisham: I try to read this one every Christmas as well. It is SO funny!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
2009 Review in Books
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5 comments:
Busy Busy Girl! Way to go! Sounds like some awesome books!
I'm so jealous! I have five books in my "to read" pile that have been giving my children dirty looks for months!
The Giver is in my top 5 ever list. It's not just great, it's also the time in my life when I read it, has stayed with me as part of how I think.
I have Rilla of Ingleside giving me dirty looks from the to read pile! I've started it like ten times, and then I move or get distracted... sigh
have you read The Blue Castle? my favorite FAVORITE L.M. book. I might have given it to you in the past, with the cover cut off?! I hate the cover art on it, RUINS two such fab characters.... I think we might have talked about this already :)
NEXT you should read Coraline. SOOO creepy fabulous, the movie is a funny twist, but you will love the book, not as cheerful or cute as the movie (which wasn't all THAT cheerful or cute!)
And I didn't know Hill House was a book! The original movie from the 60's (ish?) was the first scary movie I ever saw and started my love affair with horror.
I started Boy in Stripped Pajamas but I had just had Alice and I decided I was too fragile to finish! Maybe I'll go dig it up, I'm glad you liked it.
I'm going to read Lovely Bones next, you want to read it with me? Erin was devouring it when she was here and I've been meaning to get my hands on it.
LOVE this post, btw :)
I'm not much of a reader, but I LOVE The Giver, and I've seen the movie of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. It totally made me cry, I bet I would cry harder reading the book.
From a non-reader-trying-to-become-a-reader's perspective, I'm impressed!! I'll have to check with my "library friends" to see if they have any of your top reviews available to lend.
I am definitely going to refer to this throughout the year. I'm really trying to read more. I love to read, I just never seem to have the time so I'm going to MAKE time! Thanks for doing this.
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