Books I have read: 2007
(Year-to-date totals: books, 28; pages, 9399)
January (total books: 3, total pages: 1013)
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein (414 pages)
Many people think that this is the greatest book ever written. My feelings toward the book can be summed up in one word: meh.
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (280 pages)
I finally read my first Tolkien book. I enjoyed it.
What's Eating Gilbert Grape by Peter Hedges (319 pages)
I didn't know that it was a book until I saw a review posted in bookshare. It was a great book, and very quick to read.
February (total books: 3, total pages: 1086)
Secret Girl by Molly Bruce Jacobs (232 pages)
Secret Girl is about a woman whose family institutionalized her younger sister at birth because she was born with hydrocephalus and was mentally retarded whatever the PC term is. I heard about this book on one of the LJ book communities and it sounded interesting, but I don't think the book was particularly good.
The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields (361 pages)
I read this for my book club, and it sounded like a good read, but I was disappointed. Not only did I find the writing style odd, and dull at times, but the book skipped large parts of Daisy's life, never allowing the reader to really get to know who she was or what her motivations were. For example, one page she is visiting someone who was an uncle figure to her as she grew up, whom she has not seen in years, and literally the next page, they are married. No explanation, no build-up.
I did not enjoy this book. However, there was one passage that made me laugh:
Daisy, as a young woman in 1927, is talking with two of her friends:
"They [French women] have intercourse much, much more often than American women do. Or English women for that matter."
"Why?" Daisy asked. "Why do they?"
"They're much more highly sexed. They think sex is a very important part of being a woman. They're very keen on it, very creative."
"What do you mean, creative?"
"They do it other ways."
"What?"
"Other ways than normal ways, I mean. Last summer, at one of the hotels where we were staying-in this bureau drawer-I found a book, a kind of pamphlet. With pictures. Of couples, you know, making love. In different ways."
"You never told us this before."
"You never asked."
"What exactly were they doing?"
"Who?"
"The couple, in the pictures?"
"Yes, what?"
"Well." Fraidy looks down at her fresh nail polish. "From the pictures in this little book, it looked as though" - she pauses - "as though they were kissing each other. Down there."
"Where?"
"Here." Pointing at her lap.
"Oh, my God."
"You mean men kissing women down there or women kissing men?"
"Both."
"Oh, my God."
"I couldn't."
"I'd be sick to my stomach, I'd throw up."
"I feel sick right this minute, just thinking about it."
"For them it's perfectly natural. They're not half as puritanical as we are in America. They're used to it. And, of course, it's one way to, you know. To make sure you don't get pregnant."
"I hope Dick doesn't know anything about that kind of thing," Beans says. She will be marrying Dick Greene on the first Saturday in July.
"My goodness, you don't think Harold would ever try-" Daisy looks at Fraidy and then at Beans. There is a moment of solid conspiratorial silence, and then the three of them burst out laughing." (page 106-107)
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith (493 pages)
I loved this book, and highly recommend it. It's one of the most engaging books that I've read in a long time, and it's going on my list of favourite books.
March (total books: 4, total pages: 889)
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut (287 pages)
Maybe I missed something, but what's so great about this book? I was quite disappointed.
Blindness by Jose Saramago (293 pages)
Many people raved about this book, and it sounded interesting, so I decided to read it. While it was an interesting story, I didn't think the book was as good as everyone made it out to be. I thought it was a good book, but not as engaging as I thought it would be.
I know it's just a fictional story, but I was quite outraged at how all the blind people were treated, and how the quarantined blind men started raping the women. Humanity can be quite sickening.
Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger (201 pages)
Um, yeah...
The Outsider by Albert Camus (108 pages)
I quite enjoyed this book. Definitely worth the 55 cents it cost me at the library book sale!
April (total books: 4, total pages: 1572)
Cockeyed by Ryan Knighton (261 pages)
Cockeyed is Knighton's memoir about going blind. I heard about this book on an LJ book community. I was surprised to find out that he is a Vancouverite (born in Langley), and so that made it quite interesting. I enjoyed this book and recommend it.
The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy (297 pages)
Here's a description of the book from chapters.ca:
In the last months of the Nazi occupation of Poland, two children are left by their father and stepmother to find safety in a dense forest. Because their real names will reveal their Jewishness, they are renamed "Hansel" and "Gretel." They wander in the woods until they are taken in by Magda, an eccentric and stubborn old woman called "witch" by the nearby villagers. Magda is determined to save them, even as a German officer arrives in the village with his own plans for the children.
Combining classic themes of fairy tales and war literature, this haunting novel of journey and survival, of redemption and memory, powerfully depicts how war is experienced by families and especially by children, and tells a resonant, riveting story.
I heard about this book from an LJ book community, and I thought it sounded interesting, but I didn't care for it, perhaps because I didn't understand fully all the war-related things that happened. It's not a terrible book, but I couldn't wait to finish it and get it over with.
Forrest Gump by Winston Groom (248 pages)
This is the book that the movie was based on. Not too long ago I heard that the movie was based on a book (I had no idea), and then I found the book (as well as its sequel) at the library book sale for only 55 cents.
The book was alright, but I prefer the movie. I'm not sure if having seen the movie first spoiled the book for me, as I think the movie is excellent. There are many differences between the movie and book, but I like the changes in the movie. In both the movie and book, Forrest Gump has a colorful life and had many interesting experiences. But in the book, he does and experiences things that are just too absurd and unbelievable. In case anyone wants to read the book I won't spoil it and tell what he does, but it was too ridiculous.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (766 pages)
This is my favourite Harry Potter book, and it's my third time reading it, I think (I know I have previously read it at least two times, and with the exception of book six, I have read all the books at least two times). The last time I read a Harry Potter book was when book six came out, which was about two years ago. I decided to reread this book as Dave recently read, for the first time, the entire series (and he read it in just under two weeks!), and I saw how much he was enjoying the books. Also, the final book is due to come out in July, and I figured I should reread book five and six so that it's fresh in my mind.
I absolutely love this book, and I love the series. The reason why I really like this book in particular is because you find out a lot of things that explain what is happening in the present, and find out a little more about the characters.
I like this series a lot because it's entertaining, and engaging to read. I often find myself laughing out loud (and so did Dave). J.K. Rowling adds a lot of stuff that while isn't necessary to the plot, adds to it, and not in a tedious way. For example, she writes about how the characters bully each other and how they feel about their classes and teachers. This kind of stuff really adds to the characters. Quite often I'm annoyed at how the characters, particularly Harry, behave and deal with problems, but then I remember that they are just teenagers, and that's how teenagers act. The characters, in my opinion, are very believable.
May (total books: 4, total pages: 1249)
Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts (358 pages)
This is generally not the kind of book I read, but I heard about it on bookshare, and it sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a try. Not one of my favourite books by any means, but it was a quick and easy read, and reasonably enjoyable, just the kind of book I was in the mood for.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon (221 pages)
My second time reading this book. One of my favourites.
The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon (340 pages)
I heard about this book on one of the LJ book communities, and I really liked it. It is about Lou, an autistic man, and set sometime in the future when autism, as well as other disabilities and diseases, can be cured. Lou is being pressured to undergo an experimental operation to "cure" his autism, but if he goes along with it, he may not be the same person. I highly recommend this book.
Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill (330 pages)
A quick and easy book to read. The lives of the children in the book are quite sad.
June (total books: 0)
I did not read any books as I was ridiculously busy with school and stressed out from having to move.
July (total books: 3, total pages: 1541)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (607 pages)
I re-read this book in preparation for book #7, and I enjoyed it much more the second time. But Order of the Phoenix is still my favourite book in the series!
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (327 pages)
This has been on my "Books to read" list for quite some time. I quite enjoyed the book, but felt that the end dragged on a bit (also, I was eager to start reading the final Harry Potter book). I could relate to Emma Bovary and her unhappy marriage. although I did think some of her actions and reactions were a little crazy. A quote from the book (I can't find the page number) that I quite like and can relate to very well is:
Oh, why, dear God, did I marry him?
Hers is another quote:
What exasperated her was that Charles seemed to have no notion of her torment. His conviction that he was making her happy struck her as impudent imbecility, his uxorious complacency as ingratitude. (page 101)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (607 pages)
Probably my least favourite Harry Potter book. Oh, and I guessed one of the major plot points in this book.
August (total books: 1, total pages: 207)
Falling Angels by Barbara Gowdy (207 pages)
September (total books: 1, total pages: 354)
A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon (354 pages)
Not as good as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, but that was to be expected.
October (total books: 1, total pages: 266)
The Trial by Franz Kafka (266 pages)
What a big waste of time. I must have missed something, but this book made no sense. I should have given up on it after a couple of chapters, but I forced myself to finish it, hoping for a revelatory ending, but the ending left me even more confused. A big "WTF".
November (total books: 1, total pages: 242)
Gump & Co. by Winston Groom (242 pages)
Not a particularly good book, but I had already read Forrest Gump, and it was quick and easy to read (a necessity while going to school), and easily fit into my knapsack.
December (total books: 3, total pages: 980)
Rose Madder by Stephen King (479 pages)
I read this book years ago and re-read it this year because I had nothing to read, and I had it on my bookshelf from when I bought it at the library sale. I enjoyed it more this time, but I still think the part about the bull in the temple is stupid.
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (254 pages)
The Calculus Wars: Newton, Leibniz, and the Greatest Mathematical Clash of All Time by Jason Bardi (247 pages)
I hate calculus, but I enjoy books about science and math, and this book sounded quite interesting. It wasn't a bad book and was an interesting read, but unfortunately there were so many typos in the book that it was distracting, and the author, in my opinion, isn't a particularly good writer. If I had to rate the book, I would give it a 3/5.
January (total books: 3, total pages: 1013)
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein (414 pages)
Many people think that this is the greatest book ever written. My feelings toward the book can be summed up in one word: meh.
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (280 pages)
I finally read my first Tolkien book. I enjoyed it.
What's Eating Gilbert Grape by Peter Hedges (319 pages)
I didn't know that it was a book until I saw a review posted in bookshare. It was a great book, and very quick to read.
February (total books: 3, total pages: 1086)
Secret Girl by Molly Bruce Jacobs (232 pages)
Secret Girl is about a woman whose family institutionalized her younger sister at birth because she was born with hydrocephalus and was mentally retarded whatever the PC term is. I heard about this book on one of the LJ book communities and it sounded interesting, but I don't think the book was particularly good.
The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields (361 pages)
I read this for my book club, and it sounded like a good read, but I was disappointed. Not only did I find the writing style odd, and dull at times, but the book skipped large parts of Daisy's life, never allowing the reader to really get to know who she was or what her motivations were. For example, one page she is visiting someone who was an uncle figure to her as she grew up, whom she has not seen in years, and literally the next page, they are married. No explanation, no build-up.
I did not enjoy this book. However, there was one passage that made me laugh:
Daisy, as a young woman in 1927, is talking with two of her friends:
"They [French women] have intercourse much, much more often than American women do. Or English women for that matter."
"Why?" Daisy asked. "Why do they?"
"They're much more highly sexed. They think sex is a very important part of being a woman. They're very keen on it, very creative."
"What do you mean, creative?"
"They do it other ways."
"What?"
"Other ways than normal ways, I mean. Last summer, at one of the hotels where we were staying-in this bureau drawer-I found a book, a kind of pamphlet. With pictures. Of couples, you know, making love. In different ways."
"You never told us this before."
"You never asked."
"What exactly were they doing?"
"Who?"
"The couple, in the pictures?"
"Yes, what?"
"Well." Fraidy looks down at her fresh nail polish. "From the pictures in this little book, it looked as though" - she pauses - "as though they were kissing each other. Down there."
"Where?"
"Here." Pointing at her lap.
"Oh, my God."
"You mean men kissing women down there or women kissing men?"
"Both."
"Oh, my God."
"I couldn't."
"I'd be sick to my stomach, I'd throw up."
"I feel sick right this minute, just thinking about it."
"For them it's perfectly natural. They're not half as puritanical as we are in America. They're used to it. And, of course, it's one way to, you know. To make sure you don't get pregnant."
"I hope Dick doesn't know anything about that kind of thing," Beans says. She will be marrying Dick Greene on the first Saturday in July.
"My goodness, you don't think Harold would ever try-" Daisy looks at Fraidy and then at Beans. There is a moment of solid conspiratorial silence, and then the three of them burst out laughing." (page 106-107)
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith (493 pages)
I loved this book, and highly recommend it. It's one of the most engaging books that I've read in a long time, and it's going on my list of favourite books.
March (total books: 4, total pages: 889)
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut (287 pages)
Maybe I missed something, but what's so great about this book? I was quite disappointed.
Blindness by Jose Saramago (293 pages)
Many people raved about this book, and it sounded interesting, so I decided to read it. While it was an interesting story, I didn't think the book was as good as everyone made it out to be. I thought it was a good book, but not as engaging as I thought it would be.
I know it's just a fictional story, but I was quite outraged at how all the blind people were treated, and how the quarantined blind men started raping the women. Humanity can be quite sickening.
Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger (201 pages)
Um, yeah...
The Outsider by Albert Camus (108 pages)
I quite enjoyed this book. Definitely worth the 55 cents it cost me at the library book sale!
April (total books: 4, total pages: 1572)
Cockeyed by Ryan Knighton (261 pages)
Cockeyed is Knighton's memoir about going blind. I heard about this book on an LJ book community. I was surprised to find out that he is a Vancouverite (born in Langley), and so that made it quite interesting. I enjoyed this book and recommend it.
The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy (297 pages)
Here's a description of the book from chapters.ca:
In the last months of the Nazi occupation of Poland, two children are left by their father and stepmother to find safety in a dense forest. Because their real names will reveal their Jewishness, they are renamed "Hansel" and "Gretel." They wander in the woods until they are taken in by Magda, an eccentric and stubborn old woman called "witch" by the nearby villagers. Magda is determined to save them, even as a German officer arrives in the village with his own plans for the children.
Combining classic themes of fairy tales and war literature, this haunting novel of journey and survival, of redemption and memory, powerfully depicts how war is experienced by families and especially by children, and tells a resonant, riveting story.
I heard about this book from an LJ book community, and I thought it sounded interesting, but I didn't care for it, perhaps because I didn't understand fully all the war-related things that happened. It's not a terrible book, but I couldn't wait to finish it and get it over with.
Forrest Gump by Winston Groom (248 pages)
This is the book that the movie was based on. Not too long ago I heard that the movie was based on a book (I had no idea), and then I found the book (as well as its sequel) at the library book sale for only 55 cents.
The book was alright, but I prefer the movie. I'm not sure if having seen the movie first spoiled the book for me, as I think the movie is excellent. There are many differences between the movie and book, but I like the changes in the movie. In both the movie and book, Forrest Gump has a colorful life and had many interesting experiences. But in the book, he does and experiences things that are just too absurd and unbelievable. In case anyone wants to read the book I won't spoil it and tell what he does, but it was too ridiculous.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (766 pages)
This is my favourite Harry Potter book, and it's my third time reading it, I think (I know I have previously read it at least two times, and with the exception of book six, I have read all the books at least two times). The last time I read a Harry Potter book was when book six came out, which was about two years ago. I decided to reread this book as Dave recently read, for the first time, the entire series (and he read it in just under two weeks!), and I saw how much he was enjoying the books. Also, the final book is due to come out in July, and I figured I should reread book five and six so that it's fresh in my mind.
I absolutely love this book, and I love the series. The reason why I really like this book in particular is because you find out a lot of things that explain what is happening in the present, and find out a little more about the characters.
I like this series a lot because it's entertaining, and engaging to read. I often find myself laughing out loud (and so did Dave). J.K. Rowling adds a lot of stuff that while isn't necessary to the plot, adds to it, and not in a tedious way. For example, she writes about how the characters bully each other and how they feel about their classes and teachers. This kind of stuff really adds to the characters. Quite often I'm annoyed at how the characters, particularly Harry, behave and deal with problems, but then I remember that they are just teenagers, and that's how teenagers act. The characters, in my opinion, are very believable.
May (total books: 4, total pages: 1249)
Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts (358 pages)
This is generally not the kind of book I read, but I heard about it on bookshare, and it sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a try. Not one of my favourite books by any means, but it was a quick and easy read, and reasonably enjoyable, just the kind of book I was in the mood for.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon (221 pages)
My second time reading this book. One of my favourites.
The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon (340 pages)
I heard about this book on one of the LJ book communities, and I really liked it. It is about Lou, an autistic man, and set sometime in the future when autism, as well as other disabilities and diseases, can be cured. Lou is being pressured to undergo an experimental operation to "cure" his autism, but if he goes along with it, he may not be the same person. I highly recommend this book.
Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill (330 pages)
A quick and easy book to read. The lives of the children in the book are quite sad.
June (total books: 0)
I did not read any books as I was ridiculously busy with school and stressed out from having to move.
July (total books: 3, total pages: 1541)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (607 pages)
I re-read this book in preparation for book #7, and I enjoyed it much more the second time. But Order of the Phoenix is still my favourite book in the series!
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (327 pages)
This has been on my "Books to read" list for quite some time. I quite enjoyed the book, but felt that the end dragged on a bit (also, I was eager to start reading the final Harry Potter book). I could relate to Emma Bovary and her unhappy marriage. although I did think some of her actions and reactions were a little crazy. A quote from the book (I can't find the page number) that I quite like and can relate to very well is:
Oh, why, dear God, did I marry him?
Hers is another quote:
What exasperated her was that Charles seemed to have no notion of her torment. His conviction that he was making her happy struck her as impudent imbecility, his uxorious complacency as ingratitude. (page 101)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (607 pages)
Probably my least favourite Harry Potter book. Oh, and I guessed one of the major plot points in this book.
August (total books: 1, total pages: 207)
Falling Angels by Barbara Gowdy (207 pages)
September (total books: 1, total pages: 354)
A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon (354 pages)
Not as good as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, but that was to be expected.
October (total books: 1, total pages: 266)
The Trial by Franz Kafka (266 pages)
What a big waste of time. I must have missed something, but this book made no sense. I should have given up on it after a couple of chapters, but I forced myself to finish it, hoping for a revelatory ending, but the ending left me even more confused. A big "WTF".
November (total books: 1, total pages: 242)
Gump & Co. by Winston Groom (242 pages)
Not a particularly good book, but I had already read Forrest Gump, and it was quick and easy to read (a necessity while going to school), and easily fit into my knapsack.
December (total books: 3, total pages: 980)
Rose Madder by Stephen King (479 pages)
I read this book years ago and re-read it this year because I had nothing to read, and I had it on my bookshelf from when I bought it at the library sale. I enjoyed it more this time, but I still think the part about the bull in the temple is stupid.
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (254 pages)
The Calculus Wars: Newton, Leibniz, and the Greatest Mathematical Clash of All Time by Jason Bardi (247 pages)
I hate calculus, but I enjoy books about science and math, and this book sounded quite interesting. It wasn't a bad book and was an interesting read, but unfortunately there were so many typos in the book that it was distracting, and the author, in my opinion, isn't a particularly good writer. If I had to rate the book, I would give it a 3/5.