50 Book Challenge 2009
I'm fairly certain I read some other books in the last week but I can't remember what they were. This probably defeats the purpose of reading them.
Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
An amazing analysis of the development of human civilization and, essentially, the reasons certain cultures can overpower others. Diamond takes a look at the commonly held beliefs, analyzes them, determines why they don't answer the question or why they're simply wrong, and then figures out the right answers. It's fascinating and understandable, but I found it somewhat repetitive, as once I understood his concept I didn't need all the examples explained as well, but that's a minor complaint about a well-thought-out book.
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
I wasn't predisposed to enjoy the Twilight series; most of what I'd heard about them was pretty bad, and after reading them all I'd have to agree with a lot of the complaints. I read the first three in December and found them enjoyable but full of circumstances that made me cringe. The power dynamics of the main characters' relationship really bothered me, as did their Mary-Sueishness. However, I have to say that the books are a great read. They're compelling; I finished each of them in one sitting, and while I'm far too practical to go fangirl on them I can see why they appeal to the pre-teen and teen girl demographic. They aren't great literature or even great books, but they're a teen girl's fantasy romance mixed with the supernatural, and I'm not at all surprised at their success. I actually liked Breaking Dawn more than the other three, though I can see why other people wouldn't like it as much, but I really like the closure parts of most stories!
When the Duke Returns by Eloisa James
This is the newest book by one of my favorite romance writers. James is a biology professor as well as a writer, and her smarts definitely show up in her writing. While every romance novel has one of the basic plots, When the Duke Returns (and James' other books) takes the plot, runs with it, and actually gives her characters brains and reasons for acting as they do. It starts off with the main female character waiting for the husband she's never met and has married by-proxy to return to England. Of course, when he does, neither are who the other expected or wanted, but in the end they're the right person for the other. The appealing part of the story in this book for me was the amusing events that occur as they spend time together fixing the male main character's rundown estate and dealing with his family. If you want to read this, start instead with Desperate Duchesses, which introduces the characters.
The Recruit by Robert Muchamore
The first book in a British series about teen spies working for MI5, The Recruit is a lot of fun. It begins the tale of James, a tough teen who ends up being recruited to join CHERUB, the MI5 division for teen spies, after his mother dies. In some ways it's a strange school story, as James is introduced to the world of CHERUB. While it's not great literature, it's definitely worth a look if you're after a book for teen boys who like adventure, a tough character, and an interesting and fairly realistic (who expects that in a spy novel?!) storyline. I picked this up at work today while marking up series books (we put a little sticker identifying the order on the spine) and took a look at our records for the 5 books we own in the series; they've been checked out 27 times in the past 5 years, which is really good for us.