Desire in Disguise

Desire in Disguise
By Rebecca Brandywine
335p

Who didn't see that 'twist' coming? Was it supposed to be a surprise? Cute book, good characters.
8/10

The World's Last Mysteries

The World's Last Mysteries
Reader's Digest
089577044X 318p

Found a few things to research, maybe go see some day. Nice overview of many different sites around the world.
8/10

Price of Passion

Price of Passion
By Susan Napier
9780373820610 187p

Pretty good. Liked the characters, including the pets! Could have been longer, more in depth.
7/10

Speed Dating

Speed Dating
By Nancy Warren
9780373217694 245p

Cute. They skipped the explicit parts for me, which was nice!!
8/10

The Third Sister

The Third Sister
By Julia Barrett
1556114966 247p

Eh. Too flowery. Not enough depth of character. Storyline not very developed. Interesting, but not developed enough.
7/10

Proof by Seduction

Proof by Seduction
By Courtney Milan
9781426845994 251p

Better than I thought it would be! Pleasantly surprised, I liked all the characters. Even the secondary characters such as Blakely's sister were well-done and interesting. Would have liked to hear more about Ned's intended and engagement, they were fun in the beginning of the book. But still, very well done.
8/10

Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman

Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman
By Thomas Hardy
via www.gutenberg.org

Hated the ending, seemed out of character actually. And yet the rest of the book was beautiful and haunting. I really liked Tess until the end. Good characters all around actually, good story.
9/10

Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins

Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins
By Rupert Everett
9780446579636 406p

What a name dropper! Very funny, completely irreverent. Definitely a good book, really enjoyed it.
9/10

Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul

Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul
By Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, et al.
1558744150 328p

My favorite, from page 141:
Marriage Advice from 1886
Let your love be stronger than your hate or anger.
Learn the wisdom of compromise, for it is better to bend a little than to break.
Believe the best rather than the worst.
People have a way of living up or down to your opinion of them.
Remember that true friendship is the basis for any lasting relationship. The person you choose to marry is deserving of the courtesies and kindnesses you bestow on your friends.
Please hand this down to your children and you children's children: The more things change the more they are the same.
-Jane Wells, 1886
8/10

Katharine Hepburn Once Said...

Katharine Hepburn Once Said...
Compiled by Susan Crimp
0060581727 154p

Too short! Good picks though, for the quotes and the pictures. Some of my favorites:
Why slap them on the wrist with a feather when you can belt them over the head with a sledgehammer?
Life is hard. After all, it kills you!
In a world where carpenters get resurrected, anything is possible! -Keeper of the Flame, 1942
8/10

Women on the Front Lines

Women on the Front Lines
By Michal Ann Goll
078420202 153p

Didn't like whenever she quoted scripture, she put a ton of stuff in parenthesis. Distracting and unnecessary. Otherwise, decent book, nothing too earth-shattering.
7/10

32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny

32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny
By Phillip Done
9780743272391 288p

Well-written, funny, loved it! I'll have to find his other books and read those as well!
9/10

Vanishing Acts

Vanishing Acts
By Jodi Picoult
9780743454551 418p

Wow. Twists and turns like always. Shocks all the way to the last page! Beautifully written. I love the alternate characters chapters. And I love that it's not pretty or Hollywood, especially with Ruthann and with Eric.
10/10

The Mensa Genius Quiz Book 2

The Mensa Genius Quiz Book 2
By Marvin Grosswirth and Dr. Abbie Salny
0201059584

Cute, fun quizes. I did semi-well on them, passing grades at least! Book is a bit old, so some things were dated. My favorite question was on page 75: "The New York Cosmos are to soccer as the Toronto Maple Leafs are to _____." Mainly because the Cosmos no longer exist but I'm a huge fan of the soccer team in the area now- Red Bulls.
8/10

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul II

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul II
By Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen
1558746161 324p

I like the teen books the best of these- they're more upbeat and positive.
9/10

Cold Mountain

Cold Mountain
By Charles Frazier
1400077826 449p

What a total crap ending. Loved this book until about the last 15 pages, where it got more and more contrived, convoluted, and ridiculous. Honestly, I'm so annoyed right now at this book that I can't even say any more about it. UGH!
7/10

A 3rd Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul

A 3rd Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul
By Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen
1558743790 331p

Good, cute stories as always.
8/10

A World of Movies

A World of Movies: 70 Years of Film History
By Richard Lawton
0517347008 369p

Beautiful photographs. Oddly set up book, though. Basically all the text was in the first few pages, instead of, for example, an introduction to each section. And then every 2 pages had 3 pictures and a snippet of information. The snippet referred to one of the photos, the other 2 were just there. And there was usually no link between the photos. Vaguely chronological. And I thought some of the major players weren't featured as much as they should/could have been: Bogart, Bacall, both Hepburns, Tracy, I'm sure there are others. For example, there was one photo of Bacall, not in any of her most famous roles, and I think there were 4 of Marilyn Monroe. Not that Monroe wasn't important, but 4 times as important as Bacall? I thought it was cool to read it now, since it was written in the 70's, so I know 30 extra years of films that weren't made at the time.
7/10

The Lost Symbol

The Lost Symbol
By Dan Brown
9780385533133 339p

A lot more preachy than The Da Vinci Code. Langdon is still all-knowing, which gets tiring after awhile. A few mentions on how famous he was in certain circles after he wrote about the events in The Da Vinci Code, which was frankly annoying. It was Dan Brown patting himself on the back. Fast-moving. Ridiculous torture/killing devices, I never understand why the bad guy doesn't just shoot the good guy.
7/10

The Seamstress

The Seamstress
By Sara Tuvel Bernstein
0425166309 343p

I think it's sad that the author's name on here is not her real name, Seren. Amazing book, what a brave and resourceful woman. Told very matter-of-factly, which I actually liked, if you can use the word 'like' in relation to a Holocaust memoir.
9/10

Pagan and Christian Rome

Pagan and Christian Rome
By Rodolfo Lanciani
via gutenberg.org ~360p

The author is pretty pompous. Granted, if he's discovered even a third of the stuff he says he has, he has a right to be pompous! But it's still annoying. Luckily, the descriptions of the history and settings make up for that!
8/10

Red Lily

Red Lily
By Nora Roberts
0515139408 351p

Spoiler: Doesn't a dead body in a standing body of water ruin the water? I guess it's a bigger pond than my mind thinks it is, weird to think of a huge phond on their estate. And why all the 'buried' dreams if she wasn't buried? Ok, on to other things- I wanted to see more of Jolene, but I guess she doesn't really go with these 2 characters. Also Cousin Jane, sort of a throwaway character, shame she wasn't at least on the outskirts of the family unit, you'd think she would have been invited over once in awhile. And we didn't see many of the nursery customers, too bad, they're always funny!
8/10

Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul

Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul
By Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen
1558748008 357p

Didn't have as many stories to make you cry, which was nice. Much more uplifting stories.
8/10

Gods Behaving Badly

Gods Behaving Badly
By Marie Phillips
9781415947401 9 hours (book on CD)

Very funny! End felt rushed, unfortunately, I would have loved to have read more about this crazy family, and Alice and Neil of course. Well plotted, great characters. Loved the little jokes- Aphrodite, goddess of beauty= phone sex operator; Eros, god of love= born-again Christian, etc.
8/10

The Tipping Point

The Tipping Point
By Malcolm Gladwell
0316346624 291p

On par with Freakonomics. Intriguing, entertaining, enlightening. I can see why this is a best seller! I especially loved the Sesame Street disection, as it were. Definitely worth the time to read this!
9/10

Back Rose

Black Rose
By Nora Roberts
0515138657 355p

2nd in the 'In the Garden' trilogy. Ghosts, gardening, neither of which are very interesting to me. But the geneology was interesting, I'm glad they're getting closer to solving the puzzle that we all know the answer to already- Amelia. Didn't like how the cousin was written. Obviously, she's obnoxious and condescending, but it was too heavy handed. I'm tired of what seems to be a new shorthand with writers- if you want a character to be disliked, have them make a mean comment to the gay character. And the dog. And of course, then it's okay for the kids to tell her off, which I definitely disapproved of. I'm excited for the next book, as I'm sure it's Harper and Hayley.
8/10

Blue Dahlia

Blue Dahlia
By Nora Roberts
051513855X 353p

First in a trilogy. Actually, was a bit put off by this one. The storyline is interesting, the nursery, the kids, the other characters. But the main character knows a guy for just a few weeks and decides to accept when he proposes. Okay, she's in love, he's in love, fine. But she's got two kids to worry about, seems she rushed into the whole thing. I don't think it's possible to be in love that much and know that much about a person in such a short amount of time. Especially if you have kids you love, whose well-being you wouldn't want to jeopardize.
7/10

The Virgin Suicides

The Virgin Suicides
By Jeffrey Eugenides
0446670251 249p

Wow. Beautifully written, just as the last one of his I read was. Every page brings up a new question, most of which are left unanswered in the end. Interesting way of writing to, collective first person, so you never know who the author is. You know who he isn't, by the boys he names who took the girls to the dance. But the other boys, the author could be any of them or none of them. Very disconcerting, in an awesome way.
9/10

The Gift

The Gift
By Nora Roberts
0373285612 442p

Three stories: Home for Christmas, All I Want for Christmas and Gabriel's Angel. All good, but I liked the 2nd the best. The twins were great, rest of the family were good characters. A little hard to tell the twins apart in such a short story, I think this could have made a good full length novel.
8/10

Christians in the Wake of the Sexual Revolution

Christians in the Wake of the Sexual Revolution
by Randy C. Alcorn
0880700955 306p

Better than I thought it would be! Came recommended, but that doesn't mean much. But it was clearcut and relevant (though not as relevant as it was when it was written, I'm sure). He used real life examples without making me feel like he was betraying anyone's secrets (always hard to do, I've found). A great call to action, refreshing and honest.
9/10

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister
By Gregory Maguire
0060987529 368p

Compelling. Definitely a new and interesting take on the old story. I liked it, though at times it seemed to open more questions than it answered!
9/10

River's End

River's End
By Nora Roberts
0515127833 443p

Pretty much saw that ending coming, had it narrowed down to 2 people. Good characters, as always. There might have been too many, I never really connected with any of them like I do in many of her other books. Still, compelling and gripping, good twists.
8/10

Three Fates

Three Fates
By Nora Roberts
0515135062 467p

Would have been 9/10 if she hadn't done the stereotypical showdown at the end. I wanted the cops to come in and take her down, humiliated. Instead, Anita got one more big scene, such a shame. Otherwise, good.
8/10

Baudolino

Baudolino
By Umberto Eco
01510006903 521p

Wished it hadn't ended like that, definitely wanted to know what happened next, even if it was only in Baudolino's mind and a total lie!
9/10

If You Take a Mouse to the Movies

If You Take a Mouse to the Movies
By Laura Numeroff

My boyfriend thought my 101st book of the year should be a childrens book, since 101 is the section we stand in for soccer games and we're all pretty childish. So here we go. Cute book, clever as all in this series are.
8/10

Snowbound

Snowbound
By Janice Kay Johnson
9781426830679

I liked the premise and almost everything about this book. The kids were great, story line has been used before but still had a good twist. Definitely liked that she didn't jump into bed with the guy while the kids were there, though she didn't wait too much longer after that. All around, good book, enjoyable.
8/10

100 Great Fantasy Short Short Stories

100 Great Fantasy Short Short Stories
0385181655 311p

There are some really great stories in here! Definitely impressed. Days after I read a story, it would come back to me. Not all of them, just the best ones. I can imagine that will still be happening a few weeks from now too.
9/10

A Midsummer Night's Faery Tale

A Midsummer Night's Faery Tale
By Wendy Froud & Terri Windling
0684855593 50p

I'm a sucker for anything with "Midsummer Night's" in the title, so I had to pick this one up. Beautiful puppets and dolls in the pictures, I can see why the designer's dolls are in such high demand! Cute story, nowhere near as good as the dolls though!
8/10

Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome

Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome
By E.M. Berens
via gutenberg.org

Nice overview of the subject. Two things I was struck with. The repeated phrase "Zeus... obtained her affections" for every mortal he bedded was so quaint and almost adorable. Another thing. Did any child ever actually die of being exposed on a mountain? It seemed like every time they tried it, the shepherds would find the child and raise them!
8/10

Midnight Sun

Midnight Sun
By Stephenie Meyer
264p

Too bad she's not going to finish this idea, the series from Edward's point of view. At the very least, I wanted to see his thoughts during their first kiss. Am glad we got to hear his thoughts when he touched her cheek the first time. Overall, pretty cool. Also, have to mention how much I adore Alice!
8/10

Ask Marilyn

Ask Marilyn
By Marilyn vos Savant
0312081367 311p

Two of my favorite answers:
When asked if the earth is slowing down, she says it is and that she hopes when it finally stops, it's on a Saturday.
'How many stars in the sky?' 'All of them.'
Pretty amusing, liked the last chapter as well, unanswerable questions. Where do people come up with these crazy questions?! Lol!
8/10

Ireland: A Photographic Portrait

Ireland: A Photographic Portrait
Intro by JP Donleavy
0312142099 155p

Beautiful pictures! And very informative, will be keeping this as a reference for whenever I finally get to go to Ireland.
8/10

Three Cups of Tea

Three Cups of Tea
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
9781400102518 (book on CD)

Amazing. I was completely blown away by this guy. Some things he did were a bit well, stupid in retropect! But 1- hindsight is 20/20 and 2- was good that he admitted it in his book, he could have glossed over things. Just found out there's a sequel coming out in December, can't wait!
9/10

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Can You Ever Forgive Me? Memoirs of a Literary Forger
By Lee Israel
9781416588672 129p

Thought it would be better, more interesting. Basically, her cat gets sick and to pay the medical bills she forges a letter. You know, instead of waitressing or working in a bookstore or as a bartender or any of the other multitude of second jobs available in the city. So, she forges a letter, sells it, the cat gets better without treatment. And she decides to start forging more letters, tons in the next few years, making her living at this. Steals letters from libraries and replaces them with fakes. She's suspected, hires an accomplice, they're both caught, she's let off with probation. Umm, huh? #1- she's still saying it was the poor cat that led her to it in the first place, having to get him care. Yet she didn't, because he got better! She just liked the money. #2- why not get a real job? #3- spent all that energy and imagination on other people's letters, she could have even found a writing job with that effort. #4- she barely brings any other people into it, she's pretty egotistical. #5- barely thinks she did anything wrong, actually only seems to give lipservice to that and doesn't think she did any wrong. (ie when she talks at the end about the dealers coming out ahead money-wise. She doesn't seem to realize that people lost money on her antics, whether it was the dealers or someone else doesn't matter, the money came from somewhere.)
Okay, fed up with her, I'm done.
6/10

Hide in Plain Sight

Hide in Plain Sight
By Marta Perry
9780373442553 247p

Wasn't completely sure who it was, that was definitely a good thing! Usually I can figure out who it is and it's not as interesting to me.
8/10

Cathedrals of the World

Cathedrals of the World
By Graziella Leyla Ciaga
9788854401785 211p

Surprisingly, I liked the modern buildings slightly more, with St. Mary's Cathedral in Toyko being my favorite. The book itself is good, but superficial. There is a lot of information crammed into each 4-6 page summary, maybe too much. And sometimes things were talking about (ie a belltower or window) and there was no picture of it, which was slightly annoying. But the pictures that were included were beautiful!
8/10

Becky: The Life and Loves of Becky Thatcher

Becky: The Life and Loves of Becky Thatcher
By Lenore Hart
0312373279 371p

I have to reread "Tom Sawyer". But it seemed like too often, this novel said something like "Mark Twain got this part wrong." I like books told from other characters perpectives or sequels written by other authors. But not when they contradict the original too much.
7/10

High Noon

High Noon
By Nora Roberts
467p

One of her best, I think. Negotiating is an interesting profession to read about. And I liked all the secondary characters. I thought Duncan would figure out how to "cure" her mother, was glad when that didn't happen, would have been too much. Wanted to know more about why she couldn't sell the house, though, what kind of legal things could enforce that. Wasn't really made clear.
9/10

Angela's Ashes

Angela's Ashes
By Frank McCourt
0684874350 363p

Wow. One of the best, if not the best, autobiographies I've ever read. What a moving childhood and really, he pulled himself out of literally nothing to make a life for himself. Very inspiring, yet honest too. I'm assuming honest, I've never heard he made things up like other writers. He didn't sugarcoat the things he did to make the money to get to America or anything else.
9/10

Brideshead Revisited

Brideshead Revisited
By Evelyn Waugn
315p

Really liked some parts, sort of liked others. Didn't like people just disappearing and only hearing about them after, not seeing them. Definitely interesting how their lives intertwined so much, how much things change over the years, the people who weren't important become the center of your world and then shoot off again.
8/10

The Glimpses of the Moon

The Glimpses of the Moon
By Edith Wharton
via gutenberg.net

Beautiful and haunting. I really liked the storyline, what a good idea. Been done before, of course, everything has. But it was done so beautifully here, I really felt for Susy especially but also for Nick. I don't think I have to wonder what will become of them, for Ms. Wharton makes it pretty clear how they will survive and even thrive.
9/10

A Little Fate

A Little Fate
By Nora Roberts
0515137812 292p

3 short stories, all interesting. Good characters, very quick reads.
8/10

Tribute

Tribute
By Nora Roberts
9780515146363 433p

Nothing too special, very well told and intricate story, as usual. Good characters, I like that most of the book was the HGTV aspect- redoing the house- and not the Lifetime movie mystery aspect.
8/10

eat pray love

eat pray love
By Elizabeth Gilbert
1415926700 12 hrs, 40 mins (book on CD)

I really tried to like her. I grasped at every good thing- especially the house for her friend- and yet I couldn't like her. All I could see was self-centerdness. Which is usually fine in these books, since it is a memoir after all! But she seems to think she's found the secret to everyone's world. Even buying the house- it was for her friend. And her celibacy vow lasted about as long as it took for someone to want to sleep with her. No, wait, it lasted 24 more hours after he told her he wanted her. Wow, such self-restraint. And, as an aside, every time she said "Richard from Texas", I wanted to yell "He's the only Richard in the book, stop qualifying it!" Actually, it's possible I did yell that once or twice. I thought I'd get descriptions of the countries, too, unfortunately I got to learn about her inner mind more than anything- not a place I'm that interested in. And we leave her at the end of her year of learning and growth pretty much where she started: ignoring almost everything else in her life to follow a man around, fitting her life around his and her viewpoints around his. What was this year supposed to teach her?
6/10

The Lost Quilter

The Lost Quilter
By Jennifer Chiaverini
1416533168 336p

Her best yet. Was both sad and happy at the ending, for different aspects. Great characters and yet another piece of the Elm Creek puzzle.
9/10

Geek Logic

Geek Logic
By Garth Sundem
0761140212 115p

Funny, cute! I didn't do all the equations, since of course they didn't all apply to me. But I did read all the intros, funny guy! And I discovered it's okay to talk about my exes- I'm over them, that I'm too smart for my job, and also underpaid. All things I knew, but it was nice to have the math to back it up, ha!
8/10

Chicken Soup for the Country Soul

Chicken Soup for the Country Soul
By Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen
236p

Now, these I was expecting that I would cry for, being Country and all!
8/10

The Alchemist

The Alchemist
By Paulo Coelho
0062502182 174p

Intriguing story, I like the full circle effect. Favorite line, from page 158 in my version: "No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central rold in the history of the world. And normally he doesn't know it."
8/10

Falling Angels

Falling Angels
By Tracy Chevalier
0525945814 321p

When I got to the end, I thought I had read this before, it seemed so familiar. I looked through this blog and didn't see it listed, so I guess I'm wrong. Very very odd. Book itself- disturbing but amazingly written. Jumping around person to person and year to year was a bit off, like I was reading a condensed book. And you never got to care too much about any character. But it was amazing anyway, you know it's well written when you actually dislike characters and your stomach is in knots over fictional events.
8/10

From the Heart

From the Heart
By Nora Roberts
0515119652 545p

3 books. Tonight and Always: I liked Alison and the grandfather the best, of course. 8/10
A Matter of Choice: Good, not too compelling though. 7/10
Endings and Beginnings: Okay. 7/10
7/10

The Quilter's Kitchen

The Quilter's Kitchen
By Jennifer Chiaverini
1410408191 202p (sort of)

Not really an Elm Creek story, instead it's a cookbook with very short chapters covering a day cleaning out cabinets and finding old items to tell short stories about.
7/10

Persepolis

Persepolis
By Marjane Satrapi
9781435276253 341p

I didn't like her that much, she seemed strangely spoiled in the midst of all the politics and war, she seemed disconnected from reality. Like, continuing to have the parties after her friend died. And being pissed at her whole school when some of them disapproved of her having sex with her boyfriend. And getting that guy in trouble so she wouldn't get in trouble for wearing make-up. Beautifully drawn and full of information, though.
9/10

Middlesex

Middlesex
By Jeffrey Eugenides
0312422156 529p

Wow. Moving and pretty powerful. Found myself peeking at it during work, ignoring all the paper on my desk just to read one more page, paragraph, sentence!
9/10

Homespun Bride

Homespun Bride
By Jill Strickler
0373827822 282p

Cute, knew where it was headed of course. Too surface-y.
7/10

Public Secrets

Public Secrets
By Nora Roberts
0553285785 481p

Dang, I figured out who one of the 2 guys were about halfway through the book. I really wanted to be wrong too!
8/10

The Lives They Left Behind

The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic
By Darby Penney and Peter Stastny
Photographs by Lisa Rinzler

A bunch of suitcases were found in the attic of a former mental hospital in upstate New York. The authors picked 10 of these suitcases and found out the stories of the men and women they belonged to. I was expecting more photographs, from what I had read about the book. Interesting, quick read, but I was a bit put off my how much anger the authors have towards the employees of the asylum. They admit that there was much they didn't know at the time about mental illness, yet still attack the workers for not knowing things.
8/10
9781934137079 189p

Not Quite What I Was Planning

Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure
By Smith Magazine
9780061374050 219p

Not as good as the Post Secret books, though I think they're based on a similar concept. This one is, Hemingway was supposedly once challenged to write a complete story in only 6 words. Amid doubts that this could be done, he hands over a masterpiece: "For sale: Baby shoes, never worn." Chilling, brilliant, horrifying. The editors of Smith Magazine challenged people to write their own life stories in 6 words.
And yes, I thought of mine, and though goodness knows I talk way too much to ever really do 6 words, here goes: "Always ready for my next adventure."
9/10

Northanger Abbey

Northanger Abbey
By Jane Austen
via www.gutenberg.org

Her earliest work that I've liked so far! And I really liked it, intriguing and interesting. I genuinely like Catherine, although she was an idiot at times. Henry was sweet, would have liked to have heard more about him. And would have liked to know how Isabella turned out. But otherwise, very enjoyable.
9/10

It's Not News, It's Fark

It's Not News, It's Fark
By Drew Curtis
9781592402915 268p

Hysterical at parts, simply amusing most of the other times. He's got a great point, actually many of them! Full disclosure: I don't read news anymore, finding it pointless 98% of the time. The other 2%, I will eventually hear from others.
9/10

5th Portion of Chicken Soup for the Soul

5th Portion of Chicken Soup for the Soul
By Jack Canfield and mark Victor Hansen
1558745432 367p

These all seemed designed to make people cry, didn't like that. Sure, make me cry on some stories, fine, but balance it out with the same number that make me smile or laugh.
8/10

What Life Was Like in the Age of Chivalry

What Life Was Like in the Age of Chivalry
Time Life Books
0783554516 156p

Good overview, the illustrations really fit into the subject on the page (I've found that's sometimes not the case, it's like the author found a cool object and wanted to cram it in somewhere, even if it doesn't make sense there!). Overall, good.
9/10

P.S. I Love You

P.S. I Love You
By Cecelia Ahern
0736698701 12 hours book on CD

I really didn't like Holly for most of the book. Even at the end she hadn't really grown on me. I think one of the most jarring, annoying parts was when she had her month where she was supposed to do karaoke. She kept saying it was the worst day of her life. Her husband, before the book began, was diagnosed with a brain tumor, went through treatment that failed, she lost her job taking care of him and he ultimately died. But the day she does karaoke is the worst day of her life?? Seriously, that's sick.
7/10

Medieval Myths

Medieval Myths
By Norma Lorre Goodrich
0452011280 277p

Interesting in an academic way, though I'm guessing these stories are more compelling in their original language. Mysogenistic and sometimes rambling.
7/10

A Very Special Delivery

A Very Special Delivery
By Linda Goodnight
9781426830648 250p

I liked it, seemed true to life, good characters and believable situations.
8/10

Memoir of Jane Austen

Memoir of Jane Austen
By James Edward Austen-Leigh
via www.gutenberg.org ~200p

Short, not many details. Which is understandable since she didn't leave much behind in way of letters. But I expected more recollections from the family, since this was written by her nephew. Miss Austen seems like she would have been a wonderful person to know.
8/10

Bonk

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex
By Mary Roach
306p

Definitely an interesting subject, duh. I liked her approach, scientific yes but also bun. She goes into it with the assumption that sex is a whole lot of things, not just mechanics, not just emotion. Good sense of humor, funny situations that she talked herself into!

The Cinderella Complex

The Cinderella Complex
By Colette Dowling
184p

Out of date. Written in 1981. But I can't see it being relevent then either. Rambling. Doesn't take into account that people may think differently than the author. Interesting idea, I get that she had some sort of relevation in her own life, but it doesn't apply to everyne. I think she reached too far with her ideals.
7/10

Breaking the Da Vinci Code

Breaking the Da Vinci Code
By Darrell Bock, Ph.D.
0785260463 170p

Okay, not as good as other books I've read looking into the validity of Dan Brown's claims. Rather than go point by point with The Da Vinci Code, he took the overall themes and broke them apart. Wasn't as compelling to me. Still, good idea.
7/10

Irresistible Forces

Irresistible Forces
By Brenda Streater Jackson
0373860641 249p

Okay. A lot of backstory for a romance novel, got a bit too much with all the family. Kind of a silly premise also.
7/10

Madame de Treymes

Madame de Treymes
By Edith Wharton

So many questions! How does it end? What did the husband do? What is Madame de Tremes doing? Very good!
8/10

The Triumph Of Night

The Triumph Of Night
By Edith Wharton

Didn't understand it totally, which is strange since I normally love Edith Wharton stories.
7/10

Pictures from Italy

Pictures from Italy
By Charles Dickens
0140424313 187p

Interesting and kind of cool in that this book is composed of letters he wrote to friends while he was on vacation in Italy, just polished up. But I wasn't overly interested, even though I'm interested in Italy. Just seemed too disjointed. As a letter to a friend, I'm sure it's fine. As a book, not so much.
7/10

Crime Scene at Caldwell Ranch

Crime Scene at Caldwell Ranch
By Barbara Heinlein
037322897X

Hurried, seemed like. And the ending was left so open, which is a little annoying.
7/10

The Beckham Experiment

The Beckham Experiment
By Grant Wahl
978030747870 290p

Interesting and insightgul. Fitting to read this after seeing his return in NY 4 days ago and hearing about him baiting a fan at he home game over the weekend! Great access and sources, well-written, very nice.
8/10

Jesus as CEO

Jesus as CEO
By Laurie Beth Jones
0786881267 318p

I liked the personal stories the best. Well done.
8/10

Lady Susan

Lady Susan
By Jane Austen

Somewhere in the middle in terms of quality of her stories. Letters to write a story is a great idea if done correctly, this was close to it.
7/10

His Lady Mistress

His Lady Mistress
By Elizabeth Rolls
0373293720 299p

Kept my interest, fun characters and situations and some good lines. The events seemed to take over a few months instead of weeks, so that was a little disconcerting. Ending was quite ridiculous.
8/10

1601

1601: Conversation as it was by the Social Fireside in the Time of the Tudors
By Mark Twain

Interesting. Very short, even with all the add-ons (footnotes, bibliography, etc). And not as interesting as I thought it would be.
7/10

Baby Bonanza

Baby Bonanza
By Maureen Child
0373768931 175p

I like cruises and I like couples who have a history! Good characters, actually wish it had been longer, good book.
8/10

Slow Hands

Slow Hands
By Leslie Kelly
0373794061 210p

Better than I thought it would be! Amusing premise, someone isn't who you think they are, been used tons of times and yet she made it new and fun.
8/10

Once a Cowboy

Once a Cowboy
By Linda Warren
0373751559 246p

Parts were good, parts were silly. But hey, it was free.
7/10

Autobiography of a Geisha

Autobiography of a Geisha
By Sayo Masuda
0231129505 182p

Moving, shockingly straightforwards. Definitely felt for her and kept hoping for a happier ending than the one she got. Hopefully, after the book was published, she gained some happiness.
8/10

Jane Austen, Her Life and Letters: A Family Record

Jane Austen, Her Life and Letters: A Family Record
By William Austen-Leigh and Richard Arthur Austen-Leigh
gutenberg.org 400p

Interesting, but yeah not much odd or strange to tell about her life, it was pretty straightforward. Book didn't speculate at all, like about who her love was or how she died, which is keeping with that it was written by her family. Obviously, she was loved by those who knew her best, which is perhaps the most important thing we can know about her.

My favorite lines:
"Mrs. Hall, of Sherborne, was brought to bed yesterday of a dead child, some weeks before she expected, owing to a fright. I suppose she happened unawares to look at her husband."
"You express so little anxiety about my being murdered under Ashe Park Copse by Mrs. Hulbert's servant, that I have a great mind not to tell you whether I was or not."
8/10

The Cradle Will Fall

The Cradle Will Fall
By Mary Higgins Clark
0671741195 314p

Good. Fast paced, intricate, definitely well-plotted, as always. Lots of characters but not too much trouble keeping them straight. Got squeamish at some of the blood parts- the medical, of course, not the murders! Ha!
8/10

The Royal Diaries: Anastasia, The Last Grand Duchess

The Royal Diaries: Anastasia, The Last Grand Duchess
By Carolyn Meyer
0439129087 216p

I liked it, interesting glimpse at what her life might have been like and how quickly it changed so completely.
8/10

The Royal Diaries: Cleopatra VII

The Royal Diaries: Cleopatra VII
By Kristiana Gregory
0590819755 218p

Cute. Young adults book, read it to be sure it's appropriate for my 9 year old cousin.
8/10

The Idiot

The Idiot
By Fyodor Dostoevsky
1593083475 564p

Okay, although I thought the ending was rushed. I don't like that every character has 3 names, eventually I got used to it but still it's annoying. Story was good, until the last few pages.
7/10

Born in Shame

Born in Shame
By Nora Roberts
051511779X 356p

Okay, a bit hurried, it seemed, with the main characters falling in love (and into bed). They had barely met. I'm glad it was Murphy, though, since I'd liked him in the other 2 books. Bet he's glad now that he'd never slept with Maggie of Brie, ha! Liam was cute. I like Shannon finding not only sisters but also brothers. That was cute when she realized that.
7/10

Wicked

Wicked
By Gregory Maguire
0060987103 406p

Not as good as I expected. And too revisionist, too fast of a change. Interesting and I do still want to see the musical.
7/10

Nineteen Minutes

Nineteen Minutes
By Jodi Picoult
19 hours (book on CD)

Interesting story, interesting way to tell the story. Definitely kept my attention. Not sure why the 'battered woman' thing wasn't used at the second trial though.
8/10