Books are fun, but can be dangerous...

[photigrapes]

Well, since I last posted (in January!) about what I'd read, I've done quite a bit of reading.

1. The Seven Daughters of Eve by Bryan Sykes
   
2. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
   
3. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
   
4. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
   
5. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
   
6. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
   
7. The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
   
8. The Pocket Book of O. Henry Stories by O. Henry, including:
   
   1. "The Gift of the Magi"
      
   2. "The Skylight Room"
      
   3. "The Cop and the Anthem"
      
   4. "Memoirs of a Yellow Dog"
      
   5. "Springtime a la Carte"
      
   6. "The Green Door"
      
   7. "After Twenty Years"
      
   8. "The Furnished Room"
      
   9. "The Pimienta Pancakes"
      
   10. "The Reformation of Calliope"
       
   11. "The Passing of Black Eagle"
       
   12. "A Retrieved Reformation"
       
   13. "Whistling Dick's Christmas Stocking"
       
   14. "Caught"
       
   15. "The Sleuths"
       
   16. "Makes the Whole World Kin"
       
   17. "The Whirligig of Life"
       
   18. "A Newspaper Story"
       
   19. "The Voice of the City"
       
   20. "One Thousand Dollars"
       
   21. "The Trimmed Lamp"
       
   22. "A Madison Square Arabian Night"
       
   23. "The Rubaiyat of a Scotch Highball"
       
   24. "Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen"
       
   25. "The Buyer From Cactus City"
       
   26. "The Badge of Policeman O'Roon"
       
   27. "The Last Leaf"
       
   28. "The Tale of a Tainted Tenner"
       
   29. "A Municipal Report"
       
   30. "Compliments of the Season"
9. Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams
   
10. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
    
11. Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
    
12. The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader" by C.S. Lewis
    
13. The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis

Reviews

The Seven Daughters of Eve by Bryan Sykes
I thought it was really good. It was a geeky biology-type book, but Sykes did an excellent job explaining the scientific methods in "regular people" terms. Also, I liked the stories he created for each woman to show what life may have been like in that particular period, and in the particular region they likely lived, of prehistory.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams
What should you do with a collection of the Hitchhiker's Guide "trilogy" that's given to you for Christmas? Read it, of course! Technically, I've read these three before, but I didn't much remember them. I think, so far, Life, the Universe and Everything has been my favorite. Because of the flying. Currently, I'm into So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, but I got distracted by other books... ;-)

The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
I figured I'd re-read this series, since I'd seen the movie and didn't really remember how closely it went with the book. They definitely get better as you go along. I remember liking The Amber Spyglass best (which I didn't get a chance to read again, yet, as Sarah had Halli's copy until after I left the dorm... :-b), and, on the second time through, The Subtle Knife is much better than The Golden Compass. Perhaps I'll be able to finish the series this summer? *hopes*

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Oh, I loved this one! The narration was brilliantly done - I liked the way it kept you in suspense by switching between the "present" of Jacob in the nursing home and the "past" at the circus. And the twist at the end... ^_^ This book was basically awesome.

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
This was supposed to have been the Honors Village Book Club book, except that the book club never actually happened. But I still got a free book! :-D The book was interesting, but it frustrated me at times. The kid, Chris McCandless, showed an appalling lack of common sense in some ways, as well as a kind of arrogance about his abilities, that rubbed me the wrong way. Truthfully, he probably could have survived if not for a few mistakes and unhappy coincidences that compounded to result in his death. Still, it kind of bugged me that he could have so little regard for his family to neglect even sending them a postcard once in a while. And it bugged me too that he would hold his father to impossibly high moral standards and not be willing to forgive his dad's past mistakes, but completely ignore the real lives of the authors he idolized (for example, Jack London, who spent most of his life living comfortably in civilization, not in the backwoods of Alaska). A tad hypocritical, if you ask me.

The Pocket Book of O. Henry Stories by O. Henry
I'll just tell my favorites: "Springtime a la Carte", "The Green Door", "The Pimienta Pancakes", "The Reformation of Calliope", "A Newspaper Story", "A Madison Square Arabian Night", "The Buyer From Cactus City", "The Badge of Policeman O'Roon", and "The Last Leaf".

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader", and The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
I figured I should reread Prince Caspian after seeing the movie, but I obviously couldn't just start in the middle of the series! So I'm planning to go through the whole thing (which I've only ever read the first three, plus possibly The Horse and His Boy, before), in the CORRECT (ie, written) order. Meaning next up is The Horse and His Boy, then The Magician's Nephew, and finally The Last Battle.