Books 36-43 of 2009
36. How Late it Was, How Late by James Kelman (374 pgs)
I started this on a rainy weekend and had a hard time putting it down. I was immersed in Sammy's brain and there weren't any good places to stop! It takes a bit to get into the flow of his dialect but once you do, amazing.
37. The Sandman, v. 4 - Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman (234 pgs)
My favorite of the Sandman so far (until v. 5!). I laughed when Destiny decided to call a family reunion, and seeing the family of the Endless was a great precursor the quest Dream embarks on.
38. The Sandman, v. 5 - A Game of You by Neil Gaiman (192 pgs)
This is my hands-down favorite of the Sandman series so far. The entire volume is about one story, of Barbie and finding the Cuckoo, and I think that is part of the appeal. But it has a nice blending of storytelling with surprises, including a fun little twist at the end.
39. The Learning Portfolio: Reflective Practice for Improving Student Learning by John Zubizarreta (257 pgs)
Read this for work, and it was more of what I already knew. It did have some good examples, particularly of general education requirements portfolios, which was helpful for a project I'm working on.
40. Sarah by Marek Halter (294 pgs)
This was okay. I hadn't really thought about the culture of Ur before, and it was portrayed in an interesting way. For a historical retelling of a woman in the Bible, I much prefer The Red Tent.
41. The Sandman, v. 6 - Fables & Reflections (264 pgs)
Meh. Definitely my least favorite of The Sandman so far. The stories are heavy on mythology and historical settings and just not all that interesting compared to the earlier volumes.
42. Mao II by Don Delillo (241 pgs)
I was really into this book until about halfway through where the storytelling seemed to fall apart. I'm still not sure what happened to Bill, actually. I loved so much of the first half though, the characters, their histories, their insights, that I might just decide to pretend not to have read the last 100 pages.
43. The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta (358 pgs)
I love Perrotta's characters - messy and human, but the book itself wasn't that great. More of a portrait than a novel with a beginning and end.
I started this on a rainy weekend and had a hard time putting it down. I was immersed in Sammy's brain and there weren't any good places to stop! It takes a bit to get into the flow of his dialect but once you do, amazing.
37. The Sandman, v. 4 - Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman (234 pgs)
My favorite of the Sandman so far (until v. 5!). I laughed when Destiny decided to call a family reunion, and seeing the family of the Endless was a great precursor the quest Dream embarks on.
38. The Sandman, v. 5 - A Game of You by Neil Gaiman (192 pgs)
This is my hands-down favorite of the Sandman series so far. The entire volume is about one story, of Barbie and finding the Cuckoo, and I think that is part of the appeal. But it has a nice blending of storytelling with surprises, including a fun little twist at the end.
39. The Learning Portfolio: Reflective Practice for Improving Student Learning by John Zubizarreta (257 pgs)
Read this for work, and it was more of what I already knew. It did have some good examples, particularly of general education requirements portfolios, which was helpful for a project I'm working on.
40. Sarah by Marek Halter (294 pgs)
This was okay. I hadn't really thought about the culture of Ur before, and it was portrayed in an interesting way. For a historical retelling of a woman in the Bible, I much prefer The Red Tent.
41. The Sandman, v. 6 - Fables & Reflections (264 pgs)
Meh. Definitely my least favorite of The Sandman so far. The stories are heavy on mythology and historical settings and just not all that interesting compared to the earlier volumes.
42. Mao II by Don Delillo (241 pgs)
I was really into this book until about halfway through where the storytelling seemed to fall apart. I'm still not sure what happened to Bill, actually. I loved so much of the first half though, the characters, their histories, their insights, that I might just decide to pretend not to have read the last 100 pages.
43. The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta (358 pgs)
I love Perrotta's characters - messy and human, but the book itself wasn't that great. More of a portrait than a novel with a beginning and end.