Not worth reading

I listened to maybe half of Nicholas Sparks's At First Sight trying to get interested in it, then finally quit. Usually when I get that far I just finish, but it wasn't worth it. The whole plot was about arguments leading up to the main characters' wedding and I just wasn't impressed.

River of Hidden Dreams

Mom mentioned enjoying this book (by Connie May Fowler) earlier in the year. I just read it and liked it also. It was interesting enough that I could pick it up after not reading for a few days and still get back into it. It's written from several different perspectives, and I had a hard time going back and forth between them all because I was often reading just a short passage, then waiting several days. I think listening to books really helps with that because the narrators make the voices really stand out.

Freakonomics

I started reading this book, by Steven D Levitt, while on Kodiak, then had to leave it behind. I just listened to the whole thing. It's definitely worth reading. It's full of fascinating facts and figures and ideas about how society works. Since I've been listening to it, I keep wanting to spout out bits of info I learned. I'll have to look into the next book, Super Freakonomics, also.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

It's always fun to listen to a book set in England because you get to hear the proper British accents. This book, by Helen Simonson, was full of proper British ideals that were being turned upside-down by the characters. Major Pettigrew is a man of high moral standards and all things properly white and British, and he finds himself falling in love with a lady from Pakistan.

I was impressed with the richness of detail in this book, and the characters were very interesting with their various quirks. It also was an interesting look into the 'country club society' clashing with the 'lower class.'

The Chosen One

This is a young adult book by Carol Lynch Williams, and I highly recommend it. The Chosen One is about teenage girl in a polygamous community. She has been chosen as a bride for her uncle who is 5o years older than she. The story tells of some of the awful things going on in her community, and then how she runs away and is caught. Parts of this story made my stomach turn because it describes some pretty graphic scenes, and it's just plain disturbing to think of a 13-year-old being forced into marriage. It's a fascinating look into the religious bondage that the fundamentalist LDS have gotten into and one girls' struggle to get away. This was fiction, but it's made me interested in reading some non-fiction, first-hand accounts about these people.

Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

With a name like that, you know the book is going to be entertaining. And it was. I laughed out loud many, many times--but also wanted to cry as parts of World War II were described.

I listened to this book while riding in the car, and it definitely made the miles pass faster. It's written as a series of letters from several different people, so listening to it you get the different voices and the British accents.

This book is written by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows and is definitely worth reading.

The Last Song

I've read most of Nicholas Sparks's books, and I think this one is the best. It seemed to have a depth that the others don't have. His books are good for easy-to-read, sweet romances, but I was really impressed with The Last Song.

However, I read it a couple weeks ago, so I can't give you a very good description of it........but one of the things that was different from most of his books is that it was written from a younger perspective.

Has anyone else done any reading this summer? Am I really the only one?

The Invisible Bridge, by Julie Orringer

This is a book that struck me with awe. I listened to it, and I don't usually listen to books this long because it's hard to keep my attention all the way through (it was 27 hours long), but The Invisible Bridge was really interesting, heart-breaking yet encouraging, and well written. Some of her descriptive language made me stop and say 'wow'--which is especially amazing because I have found I notice language a lot less when I'm listening than when I'm actually reading.

The book's narrator is a young Jewish man from Hungary, and it follows his family's story through the years leading up to and during World War II.

I can only find one other book by Orringer, and it's a collection of short stories, which I rarely read--but I was impressed enough with her writing that I might have to look into them.

The Invisible Bridge is definitely worth the time it takes to read.

Ally Carter

I highly recommend all of Ally Carter's books. I just finished listening to Heist Society and would read it again. Carter writes for young adults and keeps me entertained all the way through.

Heist Society is about a girl who is part of a family who steals art. She cheats her way into a boarding school because she wants to get away from the family 'business,' but when her dad is accused of stealing some art he didn't steal, she decides to steal the art from the man who stole it to return it to the owner--who really shouldn't have owned it anyway, but was threatening to kill her father if it wasn't returned. Makes total sense, doesn't it? But they are worth the waiting list that all of Carter's books are on in the audio portion of the library.

Half Broke Horses, Jeannette Walls

I loved The Glass Castle, but wasn't sure what I would think about the new Jeannette Walls, a story of her grandmother as a first person narrative. I ended up loving the book, even though I often get so depressed reading about the depression, the dust bowl, poverty, etc.

Walls does a fabulous job, as in Castle of showing and not telling. I didn't particularly like the main character, and often despised how she treated some people, especially the emotional development of her daughter (now i know how Rosemary ended up the mother she was portrayed in Castle.) I didn't agree with many of her philosophies in life, or some of the conclusions she came to or assumed about everyone. But i definitely got to know her, I felt as if I met a real person with an intriguing story, and recommend taking the time to read the story (and Walls memoir!)Tawn

Tomorrow's Treasure, by Linda Lee Chaikin

This book is the first in a trilogy about the late 1800s when South Africa was being explored for its diamond and gold mines. The story follows a family heavily involved in diamonds and the scandals and society that surrounded the mines. The main character in this book is a girl who was orphaned during a Zulu uprising and then sent to England to grow up as a vicar's daughter.

This is another author from the Christian genre that is worth reading. A very interesting story line, lots of intrigue, etc--left me wanting to read the rest of the books in the series (I'm now in the middle of the second book, Yesterday's Promise.

Mrs. Mike

Benedick & Nancy Freedman originally published this book in the 40s. It's about a girl from Boston who left home at age 16 and married a Canadian mountie, who took her to live in the far north of Canada.

The story tells of all sorts of harrowing experiences in very untamed country at the turn of the century. The style of writing was interesting in that it didn't take much time for reflection until the very end, so the book moves quickly. It's a sweet love story but is also filled with tragedy. I recommend reading it.

Hmmm this isn't a very good review either, but it's a book worth reading (if you can find it, since it's probably been out of print since the 70s).

The Red Necklace

This is a novel by Sally Gardner about the French Revolution. I listened to it in short bursts over the last month, so I didn't retain a lot of it. But it was good enough to keep listening to in spite of being so broken up. It's a bit of a mystery, some drama, history and a little romance thrown in. Listening to it was especially entertaining because all the dialogue was in French and English accents. This is a pitiful review, but suffice it to say that it was a good book.

A good book and a cup of tea

Hasn't anyone been reading anything lately?!? I haven't read anything besides my Bible, cooking records, and recipes for the last several weeks, so I'm sorry I can't contribute much beyond recommending Hebrews 11 as a great preps study. Plus I have a good recipe for Shrimp Fettuchini (except I really can't recommend it yet, since I haven't actually tried it, plus the recipe is geared for 200 people). Maybe someday I'll have time to read books again.......

The Goodbye Season

I just listened to The Goodbye Season by Marian Hale, and recommend it. I wish I had read it, simply because I kept getting distracted while I was listening so didn't pay quite enough attention.

It's about a girl who loses her family to the Spanish flu, and she goes around trying to find work. One of her main hopes in life is to not end up like her mother, trapped in a marriage instead of living her dream, so that desire shapes her decisions.

From the Christian Genre

Having found myself in a home with shelf upon shelf of Amish/Christian books and plenty of time on my hands to read, I'd like to announce that with the exception of being clean, a lot of these books are poorly written and not worth reading. So of the four authors I've read in the last several days, here's how I rate them, worst to best:

I won't bother to read another of Wanda E Brunstetter's books. I read Going Home and the plot was totally predictable and the dialogue was horrible.

Even though I only skimmed the second half of B.J. Hoff's A Distant Music, I was just curious enough to read/skim the second book in the series. But I didn't bother with the third.

Beverly Lewis is a pretty decent author, with an intriguing insight into Amish culture in the book I read, The Parting.

I was about to give up on the shelf of books when I read When the Heart Cries, by Cindy Woodsmall. And then I stayed up too late last night finishing it. The plot was in-depth and heart-wrenching, and made me cry. Today I'm almost through the second in the series, When the Morning Comes, so except for the titles that shout pretty loudly that they are Christian books, I do recommend them. They aren't your typical "everything works out in the end because of their faith" books.

The Gift of an Ordinary Day, Katrina Kenison

If you google the title of this book you will find a YouTube video of the author reading a portion of the book. Just that made me want to buy this book to keep in my home library. Tammy Langill said she bought it and is reading it now and the report is "it's very good"! So I'll be making an Amazon order soon.

Thanks for the tip

I just listened to Mennonite in a Little Black Dress and really enjoyed it, thanks for the recommendation Tawn. It's a book that I would like to read in book form because I think I missed a lot by listening to it and not being able to re-read and focus on some parts. Plus when I listen while I walk it's hard to grab a dictionary.

Gordon Korman

I remember enjoying Korman's books as a teen, and recently have read a few of his newer books and enjoyed them too. Korman's first books to be published were written while he was still in high school. I just read No Coins, Please, one of his earlier books, and there was a definite lack of believability in it--no parent in their right mind, even in the 80s, would send their 11-year-old child on a road trip with a couple of 18-year-olds they had never met--but I still enjoyed the sense of humor.

Awhile back I listened to Pop, which I recommend for an entertaining read that also has some depth to it.

Another Jodi Picoult

I just finished Picture Perfect, one of Jodi Picoult's older books. It's about a girl married to a movie star who ends up being abusive, and her struggle to get out of the relationship. It was intense, especially the second half, but I felt like there were too many things going on at once: a movie star's career, anthropology, Native American culture, whirlwind romance, amnesia, pregnancy, abusive backgrounds. It felt a little like Picoult was trying to bring way too many things in to the story. The ending felt rushed, too--like you had just begun getting into the heart of the story and she ended it. Still, a good book, but I would say her writing has improved through the years.