That's all, folks.

Dearly Devoted Dexter – Jeff Lindsay

In Darkly Dreaming Dexter, we meet Dexter Morgan who is a serial killer super hero. We learn about his past, why he does the things he does, and how he covers his tracks. The biggest element in his cover is Rita, his girlfriend who’s ex was a drug addict and abusive who left her life when he turned on her two kids, Cody and Astor. In Dearly Devoted Dexter, the second in the series, Dexter has to use the “happy family” cover even more when Sgt. Doakes starts tailing him. That certainly puts a damper on his favourite extracurricular activities. But Dexter is starting to think that Cody is carrying a “dark passenger” of his own, as he spends more time with them.

Amongst all this, a new kind of baddy has hit the scene, and he’s not even killing people. He’s just systematically removing their appendages as well as all facial features and leaving them alive to suffer. How fun!

The Dexter tv show takes a pretty clear deviation from the books, and that’s good, because this would have been one messy, disturbing season to shoot. But I enjoyed this book, it was an interesting aside to the world of Dexter that never made it to TV. 

Haven – Justin Kemppainen

This was a free download on my e-reader and the author encourages people to share it. After my first experience with a book that is only available for free on e-reader (A Bride for Tom), I was skeptical and assumed another very immaturely written story. But Haven was good, if not a little disturbing. I found it hard to read before bed because it would usually put me in a bad mindset. But, it was very much an early draft... poor editing and alignment issues galore. It was messy, purely from a structuring point of view, without proper chapters and so on. Since I downloaded it, it has been revised quite a bit and most websites have it for $0.99 now.

Since Prop 172 came into effect, you no longer have to worry about mixing with the garbage of society - those who are not genetically sound enough or useful enough to let continue on. The rabble gets reprogrammed as workers and labourers, and your city is perpetual clean and beautiful. What a wonderful city is Haven!

But, the Haven that the Citizens live in was just built on top of the original city. Those people who did not make the cut have been left behind in the dark, sunless, infrastructure-free city down below. Not a fun existence. Gangs of people band together to steal from one another and try to stay alive. And they've decided to do something about it.

Apparently Haven 2 is in the works and I'm curious to read it.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll

I’m still a little surprised that I had never managed to read this. And I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed it, and how well Lewis Carroll managed to portray a dreamscape. The absurdity of it all, the inability to do something that’s typically easy for you (in the story Alice is asked to recite verse that she apparently knows but she gets it all wrong) and the way that the things change and move – the way that one second you can be in one place in a dream and suddenly you are somewhere else entirely – just read so true to what a sorts of experiences I have while dreaming. Just add a good dose of talking animals to any of the dreams I would have had as a kid, and you have Alice’s adventures.

I was surprised how short it was too. There is certainly a lot more to the Disney rendition that we all know and love.But I suppose that's because most versions include Through the Looking Glass now.

April’s Grave – Susan Howatch

Karen has been back in America for three years when she is contacted by Marnie, her ex-husband's best friend.  Her short-lived marriage ended when her slutty, vagabond sister April interfered. So when Karen asks Marnie how April is doing, and they realize that no one has had contact with her since that fateful night, the search is set in motion. Where is April? And is she even still alive?

This was a pretty light murder-mystery. I found it easy to read the characters but I didn't get too emotionally involved either, so I didn't feel a terrible amount of tension as it came to a close. It did feel a bit rushed in the end, trying to tie up all the loose ends, but that's ok. We're not talking about great literature here. But on the whole, the writing style was clean and easy to read.

Hard Candy – Mary Lynn Baxter

Ugh… this was bad. A little bit formulaic crime drama, a little bit cheesy romance novel, and all sorts of hilariously bad. I found myself groaning, rolling my eyes, and just getting exhausted trying to read it. It reminded me of a bad plot on a soap opera. 

The Publishers Weekly synopsis really describes it rather nicely. 

"Not only had he kissed his main suspect, he wanted to fuck her, as well," is one of many bits of tacky internal dialogue from bully detective, Ryker Delany, regarding his prime murder suspect in this one-dimensional, raunchy crime drama by the author of Autumn Awakening. When Blythe Lambert's dead husband washes up on the shores of a local lake, Ryker would love nothing more than to pin the murder on her. (Apparently she'd ticked him off once by mistaking him for one of her landscaping company's laborers). Bitchy and self-absorbed, Blythe doesn't like Ryker any more than he likes her, but she likes him well enough to hop into bed with him, which doesn't seem to complicate their hate/hate relationship. Between battling her in-laws, searching for a missing will and lamenting her failing business, Blythe is dogged by someone who wants the mysterious but valuable "Hard Candy" that her husband supposedly had in his possession when he died. But Blythe and crew are so distasteful that it's hard to care about her predicament or whether she gets out of it."

And that covers it. Every single character in the book is so vile, I kind of hoped it would end up with everyone being caught up in an unfortunate gas explosion. No such luck.

The Modern Dog – Dr Stanley Coren

If you have any real interest in dog behaviour, you are at least mildly familiar with Dr Coren, or you’ve heard his name. He speaks all over the world and has written a number of books. He has a way of presenting ideas and information in his books that makes them very readable, even for the more casual dog enthusiasts. And if you are a dog owner with an interest in behaviour, but not a whole lot of background, this is a good read for you.

In The Modern Dog, he covers all sorts of areas in which dogs enrich our lives, but also explains how we got to where we are as species sharing our lives cohesively.

As someone who has read a few of his other books and has heard him speak at seminars and in various television programs, there wasn’t much of anything new in this book for me. But, because he gives real-life examples to go along with what he’s discussing, everything from stories he has heard on the road to accounts of how famous figures and historical character interacted with their dogs, it was still enjoyable.

Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi 

Persepolis is an autobiographical graphic novel about a young girl's life in Iran in 1980. And I keep re-writing this second sentence, but I just can't say anything that does this story justice. It is so beautiful, and sweet, and sad. The artwork is so simple, it offsets the often heavy subject matter. I can't believe that so much story and emotion is crammed into 153 pages.

Persepolis is also a movie and is available on netflix. I am SO going to watch tomorrow. Available on Amazon here.

****

Book count: 52/50

I guess that's it... I've done my 50 books and surpassed the goal. It was actually accidental, I forgot about a book when I was doing my mental calculations (that's what I get for not blogging often enough) and the Persepolis was a bathroom add-on. 

It is hard to believe that a year has almost gone by since I started this. Next will be the 15,000 pages challenge, I think. But we'll see.....

Books 44-45

Death Masks - Jim Butcher

Jim Butcher is starting to lose my interest now. I really liked the first couple of books in The Dresden Files series, but, there was just too much going on in the last couple of books and I'm starting not to care anymore. I don't care what happens to Harry, or his ex-girlfriend, or Murphy... I just didn't care.

Harry has to duel a murderous Vampire. But, he gets a little sidetracked and starts looking for the Shroud of Turin which has been stolen. And there's some monsters, and the fact that Harry has to wrestle with his feelings for Susan as she's returned to town with some guy. Hmm haww. Blah.

Darkly Dreaming Dexter - Jeff Lindsay

So, I've watched the Dexter series with Ian a couple of times now, and the show is so addictive. The first season is so exceptionally endearing, and the style of the show is really just exceptional. The music bounces off the shots which are accentuated with colours and patterns and... it tickles all the senses. The opening theme to Dexter is a visceral, delicious experience alone. Grinding coffee, cutting into an egg yolk, juicing a blood orange... it almost makes me hungry.

So, you can tell how I feel about the show. And, the book is always better, right?

Meh. I enjoyed the first Dexter book but man, it was not nearly as good as the show. Not even close. The bones of the characters are there, but the show fleshes them out so nicely, in a way the book just does not. I do think I would have enjoyed the book more if I hadn't seen the show, but it certainly does stand on its own merits.

If you don't know the basis behind Dexter,  he's a serial killer, who only kills bad people. But there's all sorts of other things going on in his past, and in his present, so it's not just about him killing.


****

Book Count: 45/50

Books 41-43

Summer Knight - Jim Butcher

I finished this one quite a while ago and I don't remember it very well. So I guess that's a bad sign. But I did enjoy the book and, yet again, I was surprised at the ending.... and that's a good sign when it comes to mystery novels.

Harry Dresden, Wizard P.I., is in an incredibly depressed funk now that his girlfriend is gone. He is trying desperately to find the solution to her... little problem, and locks himself in his basement lab. Eviction notices pending, he finally gets back out in the world when weird stuff starts happening. Raining frogs is a bad sign, especially when they are real frogs.

Annnnnd huge war in the land of Faerie ensues, at some point.

I can't wait to read the next one.

The Prince - Machiavelli

I am only vaguely interested in politics at the best of times. So, reading about politics that are not even remotely current.... was painful. Why do the classics seem to let me down?

This is, in a nutshell, Machiavelli's guide to being a prince, and how to deal with situations whether you created a principality, took one over, or were born into one. Subjects don't have to love you, they should fear you, but not hate you. Got that? Good. Because that's the nuts and bolts of it all.

Some of the anecdotes Machiavelli includes to back up his points were interesting, like crib sheets on how certain rulers failed.

And other bits were just... cold and disturbing. You don't want to piss off your subjects, but throwing a few lowly farmers off their land to give to your nobles is ok. They're not important enough to make a difference. That bit sounded pretty current to me.

The Moses Expedition - Juan Gomez-Jurado

This book was thoroughly engaging and I blew through it in no time.  I am getting tired so am just going to steal the description from Amazon:

"A lost treasure, a Nazi war criminal, and an expedition to find a legend . . .

After fifty years in hiding, the Nazi war criminal known as the Butcher of Spiegelgrund has finally been tracked down by Father Anthony Fowler, a CIA operative and a member of the Vatican’s secret service. He wants something from the Butcher—a candle covered in filigree gold that was stolen from a Jewish family many years before.

But it isn’t the gold Fowler is after. As Fowler holds a flame to the wax, the missing fragment of an ancient map that uncovers the location of the Ten Commandments given to Moses is revealed. Soon Fowler is involved in an expedition to Jordan set up by a reclusive billionaire. But there is a traitor in the group who has ties to terrorist organizations back in the United States, and who is patiently awaiting the moment to strike.

From wartime Vienna to terrorist cells in New York and a lost valley in Jordan, The Moses Expedition is a thrilling read about a quest for power and the secrets of an ancient world."
 

Books 39-40

Grave Peril - Jim Butcher

The third book in The Dresden Files series, Grave Peril did for me what Storm Front did not, and added significant flesh and some fat to chew. It was a little daunting to get into as ghosts, faeries and vampires are all thrown at your pretty quickly, and some how end up all lending to the plot line.

I often find that with mystery movies and books I am able to figure out how things are going to end pretty early on. But so far the plot twists have been many and I've been pleasantly surprised that my assumptions have been incorrect. It's nice to get a surprise ending now and then!

Anyway, Grave Peril starts with our second favourite wizard named Harry rushing off with an acquaintance (and Knight of the Cross) named Michael to go deal with a particularly nasty ghost. They chase her into the Nevernever and, after dealing with the ghost (who they find out is being tortured), Harry's godmother greets him. The problem is, she is a high ranking fae and these are not the sweet faeries that sit around on toadstools and drink dew drops and play with sunshine.

Throw in some murderous vampires, and a maniacal demon, and... well it sure gets messy. But it makes for some pretty good reading.

Bone #4: The Dragonslayer - Jeff Smith

This.... series...  is.... so...... good.

****

Book count: 40/50

Books 36-38

He, She, and It - Marge Piercy

This is not what I expected.

Our world in the future is run by huge corporations, and Shira has been an under appreciated worker in one of them for a while. We meet her at the custody hearing for her son, and it's a brief one... custody is given to her ex-husband and shortly after he is shipped off to work on a different planet. Shira's appeal for custody now must wait the two years until they return to earth, so she returns to the free Jewish city where she was raised to live with her Grandmother and work for her ex-boyfriend's dad.

On her return she finds that they've been busy developing Yod, a cyborg who's main objective is to protect the settlement. But he's very different from previous attempts - he is able to feel, to learn, to create emotional connection. Love story ensues.

At the same time, we hear the tale of Joseph the Golem who was created to protect the Jewish ghetto in Prague.

It's an interesting combination, futuristic science fiction and ancient Jewish mysticism, but it works.


Fool Moon - Jim Butcher

Fool Moon is the second in the Dresden Files series. Fast, fun, and entirely enjoyable..... if not even remotely believable. But that's not what the Dresden Files are about.

Harry Dresden, professional Wizard, is called in to consult on a bad murder case. It leads us into the world of werewolves, of which there are many sorts and we meet at least a few of them. There's magic, treachery, violence and sexy sexy goodness... how can you go wrong?

Actually, I found this book particularly thin in comparison to Storm Front, the first in the series. I am hoping they thicken up a bit after this. I'm a completest and having started the series, I intend to finish it.

Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town - Stephen Leacock

According to Amazon, this book sits at #19 in there listings for Canadian Classics. And it's easy to see why. This book is pretty funny, and very real, it is every small Canadian lakeside town and anyone who has spent any time in a town of that nature knows the people within. What makes this book amazing, though, is that even though it was published in 1912 (that's almost 100 years! Basic math! Whoa!). Somehow, this book has managed to remain funny, and somehow oddly current, despite its age.

Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town is based in the fictional town of Mariposa, largely believed to be Orillia, Ontario. And, it's entirely true to the title... little stories about the goings on of Mariposa, and the characters within. I think my favourite was the chapter about the Mariposa Belle, the steamboat that takes the townspeople on excursions about the waterway. But then we find out that a sinking of the Mariposa Belle is not unexpected.... so much so that if you're late for an engagement, telling them the boat sank is a completely understandable excuse. Why aren't people more worried, why, the lake is only 6 feet deep at the deepest point....

What makes the book completely special is that you don't realize you're reading anything comedic until something strikes you as funny. The fact that Stephen Leacock was British is not big surprise, as the dryness of wit comes through completely clear in the writing.

****

Book count: 38/50

Book 35

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella - Stephenie Meyer

If you're a Twi-hard, feel free to squeal. If you're not, then I don't blame you for groaning. If you're in the middle... then you'd probably have the same response to this book as I did.

A bit of a reminder for you. Bree Tanner is the newborn vampire that survives the battle at the end of Eclipse. So it's not exactly a spoiler if I tell you she dies, as the Volturi don't allow her to live even though she has surrendered and the Cullens have sworn to take her under their family wing and be responsible for her. She's around only for a few pages (or, a few movie minutes) and then, bye bye Bree.

So, Stephenie Meyer thought it would be fun to show Bree's side of the story, to show what things would be like for a typical newborn vampire. Apparently, things are pretty bloody and scary for a newborn, who would have thought?

Here's the good: It's clear, very clear, that Stephenie's abilities as a writer have improved greatly post-Twilight. Her improvements throughout the series were apparent, but she's definitely gotten better. The writing flowed better, and she didn't over-use or repetitively use words. Also, this book did give interesting insight to the vampire world and gave interesting back story to what was going on behind the scenes in Eclipse.

Here's the bad: It was definitely rushed to be released around the same time as the Eclipse movie. Cha-ching! Cash grab, anybody? I'm also not 100% sure how much Bree's final pages actually meshed with Eclipse, I'm inclined to go re-read that part. There was parts in Bree's version of the events that don't seem congruous with Eclipse's version of things. I might look into it, but probably not. I don't really care enough.

In conclusion, don't read this if you haven't read the Twilight saga. Because on its own, it does lack as a story. But if you want more Stephenie in your library, then go for it.


****

Book 35/50

Books 33-34

Storm Front - Jim Butcher

The first in the Dresden Files series, we meet Harry Dresden, modern day Private Investigator and Wizard. Yeah. No relation to the other famous wizard named Harry.

This was the perfect book to follow Frankenstein with because, gosh golly, I needed something that I could read quickly and properly enjoy. Don't get me wrong, this is by no means The Great American Novel, nor is it a striking piece of fine literature. It's a formulaic mystery with a twist of the supernatural and, gosh darnit, that's entertainment.

So, Harry is a PI who does side work for the Chicago PD when they come across a case that smacks of being based in the supernatural. And they've come across a real doozy when two bodies are found with their hearts outside their bodies, as though they exploded out of their chests. Then a housewife hires Harry to find her husband who is dabbling with dangerous magic.

So if you liked any of the Sookie Stackhouse books, you'll like Storm Front (and, I'll wager, the rest of the series which I am looking forward to reading). If predictable, silly murder mysteries don't crank your engine, then you wont.


Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

I doubt I really have to do any sort of summary for Pride and Prejudice, but in case you have been living in a cave on Mars, here it is:

The Bennet family has five daughters and will lose the family estate with Mr Bennet dies as it passes down the male side of the family only. So it is imperative that the daughters marry into money. Mrs Bennet is a scatterbrained, society seeking ninny and Mr Bennet hides in his library every night. Jane is mild mannered and thinks the best of everyone. Elizabeth is outspoken, intelligent willing to stand up for herself. The other daughters are mostly background fodder but are certainly individuals. When a Mr Bingley takes residence in a nearby manor the girls are all atwitter at the prospect of a new suitor... everyone except Elizabeth who is even less impressed on meeting Bingley's best friend Darcy who is impossibly rude and full of himself. Aaaand drama ensues.

I did have a lot of trouble getting into this book at first. It didn't seem to be about anything, and I was constantly losing who the hell she was writing about at any given time. Was that Mrs Bennet, one of the
Miss Bennets, Miss Bingley or Mr Bingley that said that? And if it was Miss Bingley, was it Lydia or Jane or one of the other three? GAAAH!!!!


But my ability to follow got better, I think it was just a case of getting used to Austen's writing style and vocabulary, since we're not exactly dealing with a contemporary piece of literature. And, it actually started to get kind of good. Yes, it was hard to not hate some of the characters, their only concern being station in life, social status, and income. All the more reason to like Elizabeth because she doesn't really care.


What surprised me most about this book is that it's funny. I actually found myself laughing out loud occasionally. I'll be glad to get to something a little more modern again, though.


****
Book Count: 34/50

Book 32

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

Looking at the reviews on Amazon, all I can say is... I glad SOMEONE liked Frankenstein. I sure didn't.

For a book that's only 170 pages, it has taken me forever to read it. And I didn't enjoy it one bit. I blame it largely on the fact that my only connection to the story has been Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein (which, if you've not watched it, you really should!) which is entirely my own fault.

The biggest problem for me is that I never entered the world that the book took place in. I never felt as though I was taken to a different time or a new locale. As much as I could empathize and feel for the characters, this book did not transport me to a new time and place as I am so accustomed to feeling when I get immersed in a book. And that is unsettling for me as a reader.

The best part of the book was reading from the monster's side, and going through his journey as he gains a sense of self. It was utterly sad. But I didn't feel as though it was at all authentic, this monster gaining a more complete and refined sense of language and vocabulary than I have myself.

I'm glad it is over. I can get on with my life.

****

Book Count: 32/50

Books 28 - 31

I am hugely, hugely behind on updating because I suck. Suck. So here's a fast one so I can get on with my life and stop worrying over the fact that I haven't updated.

Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut

I don't even really know how to explain this one.

Billy Pilgrim is in WW2, gets through it, and later learns that he can travel through time, not that he wants to. He calls it being "unstuck" in time, and will walk to the bathroom and find himself 20 years in his past or 10 years in his future.

He travels to another planet and has sex with a porn star while being in the alien zoo.

Yeah.

It sounds completely absurd and it is, but it manages to be good. Good and deep and funny and odd all at once. I guess all I can say is "try it, you might like it." Because you might. I did but I'm not entirely sure why.

The Stupidest Angel - Christopher Moore

God, I love Christopher Moore. He's so funny. He's so disturbing. He's so ridiculous. The combination is delicious.

We find ourselves back at Pine Cove (backdrop for The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove, among others) with a recognizable cast of characters, but this time it's Christmas. And an Angel has come down to work a Christmas miracle. Too bad it all goes terribly wrong.

You don't HAVE to have read the other Pine Cove books to read this one. But your probably should. Moore's humour is just that much better if you have all the backstory.


Rose (Bone Prequel) - Jeff Smith

Let me go ahead and say I may have cheated a bit here. The Bone series is in graphic novel form. So.... not really a whole lot of reading. But it's a good story and I stand by my decision LOL

So I had read the first two Bone books (Out From Boneville & The Great Cow Race) before I started my challenge when they were lent to me. So when I got the WHOLE SERIES for Christmas, I was stoked! And I decided to start with Rose, thinking it would give me insight into what I had already read. Let me assure you, THAT didn't happen, LOL. I left confused. Clearly I wasn't far enough into the series. But it was a good little fantastical yarn all on it's own and it was enjoyable but I had no idea what was going on at first.

Eyes of the Storm (Bone 3) - Jeff Smith

Then Rose made more sense, LOL. Apparently, the third book is where the back story to the characters starts really coming out. But I sure have a lot to learn about the world of Bone. I will look forward to returning to these books at some point.

****
Book Count: 31/50

Book 26 - 27

Village of the Small Houses - Ian Ferguson

Ian Ferguson paints an interesting of living in Canada's North in the early 60s and 70s is this fun (mostly fun) book about his family's experiences there. His neighbours were mostly native peoples who were wary of outsiders and especially white folk. But boy, the adventures that ensue from their life there. The characters are colourful and give a really good feeling of the community he was raised in.

As with most books that are based in fact, it's not all happy and the end of the book is a little sad and pretty sobering. But there's enough laughs along the way that it's not the only part that stays with you.

One thing I really liked about this book is that it didn't smack of canadiana like a lot of Canadian stories do. I understand wanting to give voice to your culture and your country and bringing your story to the outside world but a lot of Canadian authors seem to try too hard to do that and the story gets lost behind the the many references to beer or hockey or continuous place name-dropping. And this is NOT one of those books. The story was about the community he lived in, not it's geographic location (although the trials and tribulations of living far from society do add a lot of entertainment)

This is a light, fast read and well worth the effort for anyone from 8th grade up.


A Bride for Tom - Ruth Ann Nordin

I received an e-reader for Christmas and ABfT was the first book I downloaded... it was one of the downloads available for free on the Kobo website and a small download so I figured I would try it.

It wasn't worth the free download.

So far ABfT is only available in e-book format, and there's a very good reason for that.... it sucks. It came in at about 95 e-book pages, which would probably mean even less pages in print form, and if it ever does by some miracle ever make it to print it will end up in the "bargain books" bin for $1.99

For an "historical romantic comedy" it wasn't terribly funny... nor romantic... and really didn't feel true to the era it took place in. If you get a Kobo e-reader and want to try a free download or two... bypass this one.

****
Book Count: 27/50

Book 23-25

Dracula - Bram Stoker

If you aren't familiar with the story of Dracula, then you have lived your entire life under a rock on Mars. Dracula is the original tale of gothic horror, chronicling the hunt for Dracula after he left Transylvania and attempted to relocate in London.

And it was boring.

Okay, it wasn't boring, but I had a lot of trouble getting into it. I think this is largely to do with the format of the book. It's all excerpts from diaries, telegraphs, articles from newspapers, etc. And I guess that the jumping around doesn't agree with me.

I was worried in starting it that it was going to be a long, drawn out lead in to the flesh of the book. Boy was I WRONG. I think the first chapter that takes place in Dracula's castle was the best part, your introduction to the monster that is vampire and it really was kind of freaky and disturbing. So I was set up to really enjoy the remainder of it, but then was a little let down. I felt it went in fits and starts.. I'd be interested for a few pages and then suddenly would have to force myself through the text and not allow myself to skim for others.

I guess when you sit down to read the classics you have an image of what they're going to be like in your head, and this one let me down. Maybe it's something to be said for the desensitization of our society and the fact that things that scared us years ago don't anymore, but I didn't feel the horror and the intrigue that is typically described when people talk about Dracula.

A Touch of Dead - Charlaine Harris

So, this is a collection of short stories that star Sookie Stackhouse, the heroine of the Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris. And if you're not a fan of the series, I wont recommend this book. But if you ARE a fan of the books or the series True Blood, then of course you should read it! I bombed through this book in no time and it was a nice pick me up after Dracula.

If you're not aware of the series, here's a quick breakdown. Sookie Stackhouse is a pretty young waitress in a small southern town and she just happens to be a telepath. She becomes the go-to girl for vampires and many other supernatural folks in her area. These are cheap, sexy little mysteries and absolutely the literary equivalent of junk food. And this book of short stories is just a little snack that will hold you over until the next book comes out (MAY 2011!!!!!!!! OMGYAY!!!!!) But don't read it and expect to enjoy it if you haven't read the novels, mmmkay?

To Kill a Mocking Bird - Harper Lee

This is the first book I read on my phone, and I've been reading it little bit by little bit for a few months. I read it in 10th grade and I loved it as much the second time as I did the first.

Set in Depression-era Alabama, this is the story of the trials and tribulations around the Finch family. There's a trial for rape, an attempted murder, the shooting of a rabid dog and race relations laced throughout.

I love, love, love this book. It's sweet and sad and short and long and just a great read for many different reasons.

****
Book Count: 25/50

Books 21 & 22

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - J.K Rowling

The sixth installment of the Harry Potter series. This is when the shit hits the fan. Professor Dumbledore is doing "private lessons" with Harry to learn more about Voldemort's past and we start learning about horcruxes and the fact that there's bits of Voldemort scattered about that need to be destroyed. Harry is also at the top of his Potions class with the newly re-instated Potions Master, Professor Slughorn. His borrowed Potions book is full of helpful hints and tips and the apparent author of those tips is the mysterious "Half Blood Prince". The Prince was also a very creative hex maker... the use of which can have bloody results.


Grayson - Lynne Cox

Grayson is a sweet, light little book about a professional swimmer's experience with a lost baby whale... and it's entirely true! Lynne Cox is a famous long distance open water swimmer and swam the English Channel when she was 15 years old, breaking the records of the day and has done tons ground breaking (water breaking?) swims since then. She also wrote Swimming to Antarctica .

Anyway, in Grayson Lynne is training early in the morning in the ocean, as she does every day, when she starts feeling unusual disturbances in the water. She wraps up her training and goes to speak to a friend when he tells her to not come to shore... or the baby gray whale that's following her will be beached! So Lynne and Grayson swim out to see in hope to find Grayson's mom or pod. Along the way Lynne has interactions with a few other sea creatures and her telling of them really paints a picture of the relationship she's developed with the fish, turtles, etc, from being out there every day.


****
Book Count: 22/50

Don't know when I'll get number 23 done... Dracula is taking forever....

Books 15-20

Oh my, this will be a list.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J.K Rowling

Ok, so, if you haven't read any of the Harry Potter books yet, you're behind. Really behind. And, I get it! When Harry Potter I was very "anti everything trendy". Pretty much, if other people liked something, I didn't. So I didn't like the Harry Potter series because it was popular. And then I saw the first movie, and I realized what I was missing to a degree.

When beginning your journey through the world that is the world of Harry Potter, you need to keep in mind one major thing: In the first book, Harry is 11 and it is geared towards audiences of a similar age. So don't expect anything too intensely deep, because you'll not get that. What you will get, though, is a decently written novel for tweens and teens that is pretty captivating. You are able to forget the age of our favourite young wizard and get involved in the story. I can't say the same for the movie, but that's now what this blog is here for....

I think that *most* people in the developed world who have any connection to pop culture understand the basics to the Harry Potter series. Harry is a wizard who doesn't know it, he's raised in a family of "muggles" (non magical people) who have done the best to crush his abilities out of him by years of living under their thumbs. He has no idea what he is or, really, anything about his past until he's accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Then he gets to learn about the amazing, magical world that he's a part of... and famous in. As a baby a very famous, evil wizard tried to fail, and what happened is still a bit of a mystery. What his world doesn't know is that Lord Voldemort is attempting to come back.....

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling

 So this one, for all it attempts at being mildly creepy still kind of fails since it's geared at 12 year olds. But that doesn't matter because... well... it's Harry Potter. So Harry goes back to school for his second year, having barely survived the first one. But when the caretaker's cat is attacked and  a note on the wall says the Chamber of Secrets has been opened, rumours start flying around. What is the Chamber of Secrets, and who would be able to open it? What is that voice that Harry can hear that no one else can? And has one of his best friends set a monster on the school?

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling

This is where the series starts getting good. The darkness that is apparent as a background theme is coming to the foreground now... J.K's target audience has grown with Harry a bit and are able to deal with more intense subject matter. One of Lord Voldemort's biggest supporters has broken out of the wizard prison, Azkaban. And that means a whole lot of trouble for Harry...

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling

This was my favourite of the books when they were still new to me, and the movie was a huge letdown. The world of magic was so vivid and apparent to me when I read it, and now Harry is 14 and a lot more mature.

So Harry has survived another year, and this year is extra exciting... the Quidditch World Cup has come to Britain and Harry gets to go. But when the Dark Lord's signature is blasted into the sky when a number of his followers start harassing the muggles who own the camp ground, the amazing night quickly turns terrifying. Then, when Harry returns to school his finds out the Triwizard tournament is being held. He's not old enough to enter and somehow ends up being thrown into the mix anyway. And finally, Lord Voldemort officially rears his snakelike head.


Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling

I really hated this book the first time I read it. Not because it was badly written (though it's a huge book and there's quite a bit that could/should have been cut) but because I spent the whole time being ANGRY. I remember being at the family cottage and literally throwing the book across the room, I was so angry. I also remember reading it in two days. I'm just not able to put Harry down. One annoying thing about this book is that Harry is 15 and boy, does J.K write the age well. He's an angsty little douche and I get really fed up with him... but it's true to the age of the characters and I have to give J.K kudos for making me hate one of my favourite characters so much.

Lord Voldemort is back, and terribly, his existence is being kept hidden from the wizarding world at large. People refuse to believe Harry's account of Voldemort's return, and the Daily Prophet is painting a picture of a very different Harry, an attention seeking boy who is possibly touched in the head. The searing pain that shoots through the scar on his forehead doesn't help matters. But, there's a band of warriors who will fight Lord Voldemort, the ones who believe he's returned, and they're willing to give their lives to do it.  The other part of their job involves keeping Harry alive.

The Dogs of Babel: A Novel - Carolyn Parkhurst

This book is sweet, sad, deep, lighthearted, and easy to read. How's that all possible? I don't really know. But it's true. I picked this one up cheap, on clearance, on my trip to Chicago. I grabbed it for two reasons... it mentioned dogs and I vaguely recognized the name. And I'm glad I did! When Lexy falls from a large tree in her yard, the only witness is her faithful Rhodesian Ridgeback, Lorelei.  It just so happens that Lexy's husband, Paul is a linguistics professor and he decides the only way to gain insight into Lexy's death is to teach Lorelei to speak.

This book has a few outwardly funny moments, but mostly it is sad and beautiful.

****

Book Count: 20/50

Books 13 & 14

The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

This book is really... really... GOOD. A young boy (Daniel Sempere) is taken to the Cemetery for Lost books by his book seller father, and the book that chooses to leave with him is The Shadow of the Wind. Taking the book leads him, eventually, into a Hollywood style mystery. Who is the man with the rough voice that seeks the book so badly? Is he the same man who is systematically burning every book ever written by Julián Carax? This is a book that really draws you in, and satisfyingly so. I absolutely loved it. The book was lent to me and I will happily add it to my private collection in the future.

The Dog Who Wouldn't Be - Farley Mowat

Farley Mowat tells the story of his childhood in the Canadian prairies with tales of his beloved dog Mutt in The Dog Who Wouldn't Be. Mutt didn't fancy himself dog or human... clearly he was above both of them! I really did laugh out loud at this little book, and it was an interesting shot of Canadian geography and history at the same time. Though it really is more of a pre-teen aged book, reading it really helped illustrate to me why Farley Mowat is one of Canada's best known (and best loved) authors.

****
Book Count: 14/50

Books 10-12

I guess that was a good chunk of hiatus right there... completely unintentional, I assure you. But, life being what it is, my reading dipped a bit and my blogging dipped a lot. Oh well... time to catch up I guess.


Planet Dog; A Doglopedia - Sandra and Harry Choron

 Not a whole lot about one thing but little bits of everything, Planet Dog covers just about any dog topic you can think of. Information on different breeds, differences in breed groups, dog sports, all about the conformation world, tidbits of training, books to read, and lists lists lists! Top 20 breeds for apartment living, outdoor life, barkers, biters, ones who like kids, ones who hate kids, names of Presidential dogs, movies about dogs, dogs who have won awards for acting or civil service... you name it. The real winner in this book for me was the information about obtaining a dog. Not only do they tell you what to look for in a breeder, but what not to look for, why not to buy at a pet store, reasons to consider adopting an older dog, and reasons why people who love dogs don't always get them. All good stuff to consider! They also cover important things like why you shouldn't breed your dog, and they pick apart all the stupid reasons people give for not neutering them.

This is a book that everyone from the interested dog owner to the seasoned dog professional can enjoy. It's very readable and nicely designed with lots of images and quotes scattered around. My only big problem was two improper breed identifications. A picture of a Long Haired Chihuahua was labeled a Papillion and a drawing that was supposed to be a Bearded Collie looked much more like an Otterhound. But I find that often happens in dog books that aren't specifically breed books. So no biggie. Still a good library addition for dog owners!

The Bridges of Madison County - Robert James Waller

Everyone knows some stupid hardcore Twilight loving dorkface. Maybe you are that dorkface. And that's fine, I guess, everyone has their guilty pleasures. But, I don't want to hear a single thing, ever again, about how "romantic" Twilight/Edward/whatever is. Because if you want a true, heartbreaking, soul destroying love story to make you feel like every relationship you'll ever have is less than amazing, this is the book. Because it is just so beautiful.

It starts simply enough. Lone-wolf photographer, Robert Kincaid, stops at a farmhouse in dusty Iowa to ask for directions to a local covered bridge as he's doing a piece on covered bridges in the area for National Geographic. He is met by under-appreciated housewife Francesca Johnson who is alone for the week while her family is at the Illinois State Fair. What comes of their meeting is... well... you really need to read the book. It's not a great american novel by any means, and I can see why some people have said in reviews that the dialogue is unrealistic ("No real people talk that way"). But what it boiled down to, for me, is that it's a wonderful little story, and if you don't like it, the book is really short and you didn't waste weeks on it if you didn't like it.

The Egyptian - Mika Waltari

This book is a hefty read, I'll start by saying that. It follows the life of Sinuhe the Egyptian, and wow, what a life he leads. In this book you are completely transported to the ancient world. Sinuhe travels from Egypt, to Babylon, to Crete and everywhere in between.One of the things I really liked was that, as I read, I remembered lots of stuff from my 10th grade Ancient History classes.. I felt very in the know! But, you certainly don't need any particular knowledge of ancient history to appreciate Mika Waltari's writing. It probably helps to be interested in the origins of mankind, but all that really matters is that you're interested in mankind, period. The atrocities that take place because of religion are terrifying, and the love lost for the favour of gods is crushing. It is not a lighthearted read, in the least, but absolutely worth giving some time to. I'll be looking for more of his books in the future.

****
Book Count: 12/50

Because Patrick is a whiney slut... Book 9

The Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien

This book took me forever to read. Or, it did if you consider I technically started it 2 years ago and put it aside and just left it. But man, you have to be in the mood for The Lord of the Rings. These are no before bed books. One paragraph about trees and the sky and the landscape and I'm out.

I get that Tolkien was going for something with all his description, he was trying to recreate Middle Earth so we (the readers) could be completely immersed in the world he created. And I'm sure it worked for a lot of people.  I know Mordor was scary and Hobbiton was quaint and lovely but I can only read about the landscape for so long. Once we've hit a few lines of this, I'm done. The trees, the sky, the water, the clouds, the stars, the lack thereof... oi.

 So I'm going to start looking for an abridged version of these books. Because they're great. The story is really wonderful and the characters are amazing and I, of course, found myself crying at the end of The Return of the King because it made me just that happy and sad all at once. But I can't enjoy them when entire chapters are dedicated to traveling and telling me how bleak everything was.

Book 7 and 8

Stevenson Under the Palm Trees - Alberto Manguel

SUTPT is a novella about Robert Louis Stevenson's final days in Samoa. Best known for writing The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson moved his family to Samoa due to his ill health. This little piece of fiction is called a psychological thriller. Psychological, yes. Thriller? Naah. It could have reached that point with a little more action and probably another 100 pages (the book is only about 100 pages in all) but for me it ended up just being a little book about nothing. Maybe I missed some subtle nuances to the writing, but over all it just wasn't that exciting.

What Manguel did VERY well was paint the picture of Stevenson's Samoa. I could almost taste the tropical humidity.


The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown

Our good friend Robert Langdon is back and apparently can't keep himself out of trouble. Isn't he getting too old for these shenanigans? Langdon's good friend in Washington asks him to fly out to give a speech at an event he's hosting, but it's a bit rushed - Langdon has to hop on a jet to arrive that evening as the arranged speaker had to back out last minute. Langdon is such a good guy he agrees and hilarity ensues. Oh, that's not right, of course there's no hilarity! There's mystery, codes to solve, murder, and a race around Washington. So, typical stuff for Dan Brown.

If you liked The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, you'll probably like the Lost Symbol. Although the read went quickly for me, it isn't as easy to immerse yourself in, and I found it a little difficult at first. There are some parts that drag and I've heard some people even call it "bloated" but I don't know if I'd go that far.

The "BIG HUGE SHOCK" at the end is no big huge shock and I actually had it picked out right at the beginning. And the end of the book really is longer than it needs to be.

My big complaint is this: How many times do you need to say "esoteric" in a book, Dan? In one part he used it twice in the same sentence! Get a thesaurus, man.

I did enjoy the Lost Symbol, but not nearly as much as Angels and Demons, by far his best book of tree. I'm glad I own Angels and Demons, and I'm glad I borrowed The Lost Symbol.

Book 5 and 6

My wonderful Samwise reminded me a book I missed in July, so that's one more for the count.

Still Alice - Lisa Genova

Ever wondered what descending into Alzheimer's Disease would be like? It's something I try not to think about, personally. But Lisa Genova paints the most amazing picture of just that. The worrying, the confusion, and the eventual realization that you're losing yourself completely. The challenges it presents to family members. Terrifying, but really wonderfully written.

Though this was a pretty fast read and it's not a long book, don't confuse it for a light read in the least. If nothing else, it helped cement my decision that if I were to be diagnosed with something like Alzheimer's I'd go be lawfully euthanized in the Netherlands.

Lisa Genova self published Still Alice and through social media turned it into a NY Times best seller.
http://www.stillalice.blogspot.com/

The Nanny - Melissa Nathan

So, this is total chick lit. You like a light, cute, girly novel, then you'll probably like it. If you don't, then you wont. Pretty simple.

Jo Green is a nanny in the quiet  Niblet-Upon-Avon who comes across a job listing for a cosmopolitan family in London. She's 20-something (a younger 20-something than myself, ugh), pretty and a little tired of her quiet life. She becomes indispensable to her new charges and, who would have thought, the dad has a son from a previous marriage who is handsome and also 20-something. Yeah, the formula holds true in this one.  Of course, things go awry and Jo and elder son (Josh) hate-love-hate-love-hate-love until it alllll works out perfectly in the end. How nice.

But here's what important about this book: There are truly some laugh out loud moments, pockets of hilarity that don't always have anything to do with the story line that completely caught me off guard. Those little moments are completely wonderful, a real treat. The other important thing about this book was I managed to not hate the children. Kids in media generally have the same effect on me as they do in life. They're annoying and generally cause more work than necessary (When Lily puts Carrie's cell phone in her little purse in the SATC movie? Ugggh), but not in The Nanny.  The kids are cutely written, and their parts in the story (along with the other characters) are written from their point of view. Cassie's social troubles at school with the manipulative Arabella, Zak's new found obsession with his wiener, Tallulah's instant affections for Jo.

In summary? Chick lit with some pleasant surprises, but it's still chick lit. Don't read it if you're expecting anything different.

****
Book count: 6/50

July 2010 - The books I read (at least, the ones I remember reading)

Practical Demon Keeping - Christopher Moore

Christopher Moore is a fairly new favourite of mine. One of the girls at work turned me on to him with A Dirty Job and I'm always happy when she lends me another one of his. Gotta love a friend with books! Mr. Moore is funny in the wackiest way possible. You have a problem with penis jokes, swearing or the occult? Don't read his books. You like the quirky, the weird, the completely ubsurd? Don't walk, RUN to your nearest book store.

Essentially, the unwitting keeper of an ancient demon ends up in a quiet California tourist town, looking for the only way to get the nasty thing off his back. Hilarity ensues.

Okay, maybe not hilarity. This one did not make me laugh out loud all that much, but it was still amusing and well worth the read.

The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove - Christopher Moore

What a lucky lass I am, getting to read two Moore books in a row. I unfortunately read them in the wrong order, and didn't realize that TLLoMC came after Demon Keeping. Set in the same sleepy coastal town, but about 10 years after the whole demon debacle. Only a couple of characters carry through and not in any major way, so reading them in the wrong order didn't really ruin anything for me.

TLLoMC is pretty hilarious. A prehistoric shape shifting lizard makes sweet love to a gas truck. Need I say more? Probably not. Go read Christopher Moore.

The Washingtonienne - Jessica Cutler

Ok so, if you don't read this book, you wont be missing anything. If you do read it, you wont feel like you wasted many hours of your life. I read The Washintonienne in one afternoon at the cottage. It was a light, fast read, and certainly the perfect thing if you're a chick who a) likes chick lit and b) are in the mood for something nasty. The short of it is, slutty beast runs around Washington boning everyone and blogs about it to keep her friends in the loop. She's found out, and her non-existent career is destroyed. I guess that's what happens when you're a slutbeast (and one on drugs to boot).

Serve with cheap flavoured wine and a lawn chair. And feel better that you left your slutbeast ways behind you like I did in high school.

The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova

Get ready for a long read with this one... over 800 pages in the paper back version that was lent to me. And let me say, I DID enjoy it, even if my little review doesn't seem that way.

This book is long, not just in pages but in terms of readability. The timeline in the book really hops around. Start in the 70's, move to the 50's, then to the 30's and back and forth and up and down and... you get the idea. Half the story is back story, and there's a lot of flowery and overly descriptive prose. Sometimes I had to put the book down just to absorb what I'd read.

You also bop around the world, Europe in particular. This is one area where the book is truly enjoyable, as you are immersed in the country where the characters are. The architecture, the food, the landscape is all wonderfully described, although often it's a little too much. I found myself comfortably skimming many longer paragraphs and I didn't feel like I missed anything in the process.

It took 300 pages for the story to really GO anywhere. It was easy to forget that this was supposed to be a book about vampires.

In short, I'm glad I'm the sort of person who insists on finishing the books they start, as there was much to enjoy in The Historian. But, you really do have to be dedicated to it.

****
Book count:  4/50

50 books in a year... the beginning.

I only recently came across this challenge and all I could think was.. PERFECT. I love to read and devour books pretty quickly. This is a challenge I can do!

Now, I'm probably going about his sort of... "wrong". I'm starting mid year, for one thing! And, even though this first post is in August I'm going to consider the start date as July 1, 2010. Seems like a good number and I sort of remember a few books that I read in July, so I'll include them. Honestly, I'm probably putting myself at a bit of a disadvantage, since I've forgotten a couple I read, I'm sure.

I'm going to put down a couple of rules for myself, also. All the books that I will include here will NOT be re-reads, at least not in the last 10 years. This gives me license to re-read A Midsummer Night's Dream by our good friend Willy S, as I haven't read it since 9th grade. The only exception to this will be the Harry Potter series, since I simply must re-read them before HP & The Deathly Hallows comes to theatre this fall. That's just how I am. I've re-read every Harry Potter book for the release of every book and movie. Yeah, I'm obsessive, DEAL WITH IT.

So, enjoy my babblings, uninteresting as they'll be, and I'll do my best to keep up with this whole blogging thing.