Book List II
This is the second installment of my semi-annual booklist. A bit late, but I was busy with other stuff around the new year. Seriously, if somebody has a book they'd like to recommend, let me know!
Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story by Christopher Moore - Typical of Moore, the characters are great and some parts are laugh-out-loud funny. It's a vampire story, but so very different from Twilight. ***
You Suck: A Love Story by Christopher Moore - A sequel to the above, it keeps the humor and the story in tact. The other main character becomes a vampire in this book and the plot gets a bit more complicated. I just really like Moore's style. ***
Coyote Blue by Christopher Moore - Not as funny as Lamb. It's about a yuppie Crow Indian who becomes the object of an ancient god's tricks. I guess it was just a little too "out there" for me. **
Hooked by Matt Richtel- "A thriller about love and other addictions." Umm definitely written by an old person. It was a sort of mystery story about a computer virus that makes people physically addicted to the computer like a drug and a dude who finds out his girlfriend isn't actually dead. Overall, it was kind of a dud and I expected more. *
Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin - The author is autistic and she talks about the similarities between autistic people's brains and animals. The facts were interesting, but it was pretty hard to get through in some places. I wish there had been more about autistic people and not so much about cattle. ***
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster - One of my favorite childhood books! I read the book again for a class and then I watched my video copy of it. They're both excellent, mostly because the story is filled with puns and exaggerations and wordplay where everything is taken literally. ****
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson - I enjoyed this book, even though it's definitely written for boys, with its swash-buckling pirates and exciting adventures. It was well-written and I'm glad I got around to it this year. **
First Light by Rebecca Stead - I'm usually not into sci-fi but I had to read this book for my literacy class. I read the bulk of it in one night. It was a great book, for adolescents or adults. ***
Firefly Cloak by Sheri Reynolds - I picked up this book on a whim at the library and I ended up loving it. So funny, and a great story about two children, the drug-addict mother who abandoned them, and their forgiving grandmother. ****
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - In keeping with my plan to read a lot of the classics I missed growing up, I decided to read Huckleberry Finn. It's slow in some places, and I knew the gist of the story, so it wasn't as exciting. Still a good read, though. **
The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan - I really enjoyed this story about a Chinese-American woman and her old-school Chinese mother. It's funny and touching and written very well. The book skips back and forth between the two women's stories and eventually you figure out how they tie together. ***
The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel - This is the first book of the Earth's Children series, which I recently started to reread. I love these books so much. They're set in the Ice Age and tell the story of a modern Cro-Magnon girl raised by Neanderthals who then attempts to find her own people. The author did a ton of research into the landscape, clothing, tools, religions, taboos, and medicine of the people and the result is a really interesting book. I guess the Sociologist in me is attracted to this series. I've also recently read The Valley of Horses, The Mammoth Hunters, and The Shelters of Stone, and am saving the last book for Spring Break. Can't wait for book #6! ****
Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story by Christopher Moore - Typical of Moore, the characters are great and some parts are laugh-out-loud funny. It's a vampire story, but so very different from Twilight. ***
You Suck: A Love Story by Christopher Moore - A sequel to the above, it keeps the humor and the story in tact. The other main character becomes a vampire in this book and the plot gets a bit more complicated. I just really like Moore's style. ***
Coyote Blue by Christopher Moore - Not as funny as Lamb. It's about a yuppie Crow Indian who becomes the object of an ancient god's tricks. I guess it was just a little too "out there" for me. **
Hooked by Matt Richtel- "A thriller about love and other addictions." Umm definitely written by an old person. It was a sort of mystery story about a computer virus that makes people physically addicted to the computer like a drug and a dude who finds out his girlfriend isn't actually dead. Overall, it was kind of a dud and I expected more. *
Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin - The author is autistic and she talks about the similarities between autistic people's brains and animals. The facts were interesting, but it was pretty hard to get through in some places. I wish there had been more about autistic people and not so much about cattle. ***
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster - One of my favorite childhood books! I read the book again for a class and then I watched my video copy of it. They're both excellent, mostly because the story is filled with puns and exaggerations and wordplay where everything is taken literally. ****
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson - I enjoyed this book, even though it's definitely written for boys, with its swash-buckling pirates and exciting adventures. It was well-written and I'm glad I got around to it this year. **
First Light by Rebecca Stead - I'm usually not into sci-fi but I had to read this book for my literacy class. I read the bulk of it in one night. It was a great book, for adolescents or adults. ***
Firefly Cloak by Sheri Reynolds - I picked up this book on a whim at the library and I ended up loving it. So funny, and a great story about two children, the drug-addict mother who abandoned them, and their forgiving grandmother. ****
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - In keeping with my plan to read a lot of the classics I missed growing up, I decided to read Huckleberry Finn. It's slow in some places, and I knew the gist of the story, so it wasn't as exciting. Still a good read, though. **
The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan - I really enjoyed this story about a Chinese-American woman and her old-school Chinese mother. It's funny and touching and written very well. The book skips back and forth between the two women's stories and eventually you figure out how they tie together. ***
The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel - This is the first book of the Earth's Children series, which I recently started to reread. I love these books so much. They're set in the Ice Age and tell the story of a modern Cro-Magnon girl raised by Neanderthals who then attempts to find her own people. The author did a ton of research into the landscape, clothing, tools, religions, taboos, and medicine of the people and the result is a really interesting book. I guess the Sociologist in me is attracted to this series. I've also recently read The Valley of Horses, The Mammoth Hunters, and The Shelters of Stone, and am saving the last book for Spring Break. Can't wait for book #6! ****