bell7's crazy/hopeful -- 999 x 2

Alright, with 13 books left in my 1st 999 challenge, I've finally decided to start a 999 x 2 challenge. I'm starting to feel a bit limited knowing that I'm almost through, so I will probably start filling these categories before completing the first.

Here are my new categories:

1. Everything Shakespeare Classics (9/9)
2. Author revisits (9/9)
3. From the library's "new books" shelves (9/9)
4. From my "tbr" tag "To Read" collection (9/9)
5. Fantasy (9/9)
6. YA/Children's (9/9)
7. Nonfiction (9/9)
8. Lost Book Club Rereads (8/9)
9. Grab Bag (9/9)

Everything Shakespeare Classics
(Category changed 11/17/09)

1. The Tempest by William Shakespeare
2. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
3. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
4. The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
5. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
6. Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier
7. Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
8. Macbeth by William Shakespeare
9. A Room with a View by E.M. Forster

Category completed 12/26/09

Author revisits (books I haven't read by authors I have):

1. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
2. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
3. A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn
4. Storm Front by Jim Butcher
5. A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck
6. Thursday Next: First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde
7. Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchet
8. Chosen by Ted Dekker
9. Vera by Elizabeth von Arnim

Category completed 11/30/09

From the library's "new books" shelf:

1. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith
2. Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton
3. Labor Day by Joyce Maynard
4. Silksinger by Laini Taylor
5. Broken Teaglass by Emily Arsenault
6. The Family Man by Elinor Lipman
7. Fire by Kristin Cashore
8. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
9. One and the Same: My Life as an Identical Twin and What I've Learned About Everyone's Struggle to be Singular by Abigail Pogrebin

Category completed 12/28/09

From my "To Read" collection:

1. The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King
2. Show Me God by Fred Heeren
3. A Supremely Bad Idea by Luke Dempsey
4. You Just Don't Understand by Deborah Tannen
5. Seeing Things by Patti Hill
6. The Secret by Beverly Lewis
7. Powers by John B. Olson
8. The Wives of Henry Oades by Johanna Moran
9. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham

Category completed 12/21/09

Fantasy:

1. Lioness Rampant by Tamora Pierce
2. Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher
3. Captain's Fury by Jim Butcher
4. Princeps' Fury by Jim Butcher
5. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
6. Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher
7. By These Ten Bones by Clare B. Dunkle
8. Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima
9. First Lord's Fury by Jim Butcher

Category complete 12/14/09

YA/Children's:

1. The Woman Who Rides Like a Man by Tamora Pierce
2. Necropolis by Anthony Horowitz
3. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
4. Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott
5. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
6. Geek Magnet by Kieran Scott
7. The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan
8. Shakespeare's Spy by Gary Blackwood
9. One False Note by Gordon Korman

Category completed (upon some shifting) 11/17/09

Nonfiction:

1. On the Art of Reading by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch
2. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
3. Singled Out by Virginia Nicholson
4.Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World has Never Seen by Christopher MacDougall
5. Untangling My Chopsticks by Victoria Abbott Riccardi
6. When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
7. Made in America by Bill Bryson
8. The Paris Review Interviews edited by Philip Gourevitch
9. A Truth Universally Acknowledged edited by Susannah Carson

Category completed 11/27/09

Rereads:
(changed the category 10/21/09)

1. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
2. Turn of the Screw by Henry James
3. Blackbringer by Laini Taylor
4. Castle Roogna by Piers Anthony
5. Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
6. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
7. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (currently listening)
8. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling (currently reading)
9. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Grab Bag:

1. Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
2. Reduced Shakespeare: The Complete Reader's Guide for the Attention-Impaired (Abridged) by Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor*
3. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
4. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
5. Radiation Sonnets by Jane Yolen
6. Shade by John Olson
7. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
8. Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
9. Invisible I by Melissa Kantor (currently reading)

*Touchstone wasn't picking up - this is a link.

I loved The Reduced Shakespeare Company's book. So funny!

That might be a fun one to try! I've watched a recording of their "Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)" and it's hilarious!

bell7, good luck on a second challenge. I am trying to do that, too. I've got 20 books to go on my first but find that my "outside the challenge" categories ended up following a pattern.

For my second 999 challenge, three of the categories are the same but six are new.

I'm not sure I can finish an entire second challenge but I will certainly have fun trying!!

Holy cow! Congrats on getting so far on your 999 Challenge. I think it's great your doing a second one. Good luck :-)

Hi Linda - good luck to you too! I see you've already started filling out your "x 2" categories - it'll probably be a few days yet before I can get started, having a few more books to finish up first. I kept a few categories the same but decided with this one to include a "grab bag" category for everything else and to force myself to read a few books I own.

Jenson - thanks! I'm not sure I can finish it (I always read more in the first half of the year, for some reason), but it'll be fun to try!

1. The Woman Who Rides Like a Man by Tamora Pierce
Category: YA/Children's (could also move to Author Revisits or Fantasy)

The third in the Song of the Lioness trilogy finds Alanna, newly made a knight of the realm, in the south deserts seeking adventure. Events conspire to make her an integral part of a Bazhir tribe, using and teaching the Gift she is so afraid to use.

Unlike the second book, this covers only about a year. Though still fast-paced, the second half especially felt like a bit of a set up for the fourth book. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens to Alanna, George, Jonathan, and all the great characters introduced in this series. 4.5 stars.

1 book down! W00t!

2. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Category: Author Revisits

David Martin has worked at a newspaper office since he was a teenager. He shows great promise in his writing ability, dreams of becoming a novelist, and is taken under the wing of Don Pedro Vidal, a well-known and respected author in his own right. After being dismissed from the newspaper, however, David finds himself churning out meaningless bestsellers under an assumed name instead of creating a work into which he can pour his soul. Then a mysterious publisher, Andreas Corelli, makes him an offer that seems too good to be true.

**SPOILER WARNING** The other book by this author that has been translated into English, The Shadow of the Wind, was one of my absolute favorite books last year. My expectations and hopes for The Angel's Game, then, definitely had impact on my reading experience. I enjoyed seeing characters and places that I recognized, such as the Semperes, their bookstore, and the Cemetery of Lost Books. Once again, there was a sort of Gothic atmosphere and mysteriousness to the story that perhaps felt a bit flat to me because of the comparison rather than any actual shortcoming in the writing. Finally, the ending was extremely confusing for me, and the author gives no easy answers about David's story - did he lose his mind? Did he murder several people? Does Andreas Corelli even exist? Though the ending had all the suspenseful impact of that in The Shadow of the Wind, I felt left adrift because I was left to make up my own mind about David's sanity and guilt, and still have more questions than answers. In the end, though I would read more of Zafon's books, this one left me feeling unsettled. 3.5 stars.

3. Lioness Rampant by Tamora Pierce
Category: Fantasy (could also go in YA or Author Revisits)

Alanna goes on a quest to find the Dominion Jewel, a legendary stone said to bring prosperity to the land or any ruler to wield it. Meanwhile, she has a feeling that all is not right in Tortall.

I liked this least of all of the books in the quartet because all the little annoyances in the first three books built up and became big annoyances to me in the fourth. I was irritated by the wording of sentences, the easy way Alanna has of going through lovers (three in three books? really?) and the fact that the part of the story I was really interested at the end of The Woman Who Rides Like a Man didn't get addressed until the second half of the book. It probably would have gotten a higher rating if I had taken more time between books 3 and 4. 3.5 stars.

4. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

For 25 years, a strange sickness has kept those buried from staying under the ground, leaving Meryton and Longbourn open to attack. Mr. Bennet has prepared his daughters to fight the menace; meanwhile, all Mrs. Bennet can think of is getting them married.

I was interested in reading this after a review I read estimated that about 85% of this story is from the original book, and I wanted to know how that worked. Well, the estimate is probably pretty close. For the first half of the book, I really enjoyed the intermingling of the original and new. One of the best instances of this is Darcy's conversation with Miss Bingley while he is trying to write a letter to his sister. All of Caroline's lines are exactly the same, while Darcy says what every reader was thinking. For the second half of the book, however, the new was not so gracefully integrated with the original story and I found myself best enjoying the parts that were solely Austen's. So with 5 stars for the first half and 4 stars for the second, I'll give it an average of 4.5 stars.

I did not read the above review as I've just checked P&P&Z out of the library. I'll come back and comment as soon as I've read it. It certainly has a great premise!

I'd be interested in knowing what you think, RidgewayGirl. I was intrigued by the premise, too.

5. Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher
Category: Fantasy (2/9)

A few years after the Vord's defeat, Gaius sends Tavi as a Cursor and officer in the newly created First Aleran, a group of legionares purposely made up of men from various cities so that it would not be under the control of any one of the High Lords of Alera. At the same time, Bernard tries to convince others of the threat the Vord still poses and the High Lord Kalarus maneuvers against the First Lord.

Fast-paced action and cliffhanger chapter endings have been the strength of the Codex Alera series so far, and book three is no exception. I did sometimes get frustrated with the narrator's tendency to slow down the action with unnecessarily lengthy explanations of what was going through a character's head. I like getting to know the characters, but sometimes only a few words rather than two paragraphs would have explained their thoughts and actions sufficiently. Still, the ending left me looking forward to the next book in the series.

6. Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton
Category: From the library's "new books" shelf

Sugar Maple, Vermont is not all that it appears to be, and no one knows that better than Chloe Hobbs, the only human (well, half-human) resident among witches, vampires, and all those other creatures of fairy tale ilk. Chloe's ancestor put a protection spell on the town to keep it safe and away from prying eyes as long as a female of her line exists. Chloe, still single at 30, knows that the spell is failing when a visitor is murdered. She suddenly has a lot on her plate when Luke, a cop from Boston, shows up to solve the murder.

Told in alternating narratives from Luke and Chloe's perspectives, the story is told in a chatty style, mixing gentle romance, cozy mystery, and a bit of the paranormal thrown in. Details about knitting are added at the end, and almost made me want to take it up myself. A nice, light book for reading curled up in a blanket, especially with the wintry Vermont setting. 4 stars.

Well, I read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and liked it, for the most part. I agree with your review. Grahame-Smith did more than add zombies; he had several characters speak and think much more directly than Austen did. It added something to the original and was fun. I'm going to think about it a little longer and then add my review. He's reportedly doing Abe Lincoln and vampires next.

Hey RidgewayGirl, glad you enjoyed it overall. I'll look for your review when you've put it up. Abe Lincoln and vampires...I'm speechless, actually. I've been staring at the computer screen for about two minutes trying to say, essentially, that I'm not exactly sure whether or not I would want to read that book. I'd be interested in finding out more information, though.

7. Necropolis by Anthony Horowitz
Category: YA/Children's (could also go in Author Revisits)

The fourth novel in the Gatekeepers series begins with Scarlett - the fifth of the Five who can save the world from the Old Ones - attending a rich kids' school in Dulwich. When her class goes on a field trip to an old church building, she discovers one of the doors with the strange five-pointed symbol that links together passages across the world that only the Gatekeepers can use, setting off a chain of events that will change her life forever.

Maybe it was because there was a two year gap between my reading Nightrise and Necropolis or because the Old Ones are now back, but for some reason this book didn't have the same intensity and creepy supernatural aspect the earlier books did. The plot felt too drawn out and long-winded, before finally getting exciting at the very end. Even so, I'm looking forward to reading the last book in the series and seeing how things turn out with Matt, Jamie, Scott, Pedro, and Scarlett. 4 stars.

8. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
Category: Grab Bag (may move to Nonfiction)

(actually read before Necropolis)

In 1949, scriptwriter Helene Hanff chanced upon an advertisement for a used bookstore in London. Thinking that she might be able to find some out-of-print books that she was interested in for a decent price, she wrote a letter asking for some particular books she was interested in. What follows is a long correspondence between Helene and "FPD," one of the workers at Marks & Co., the bookstore located at 84, Charing Cross Road.

I recently reread this book, a favorite read from last year that I ended up purchasing because I loved it so. Helene's sense of humor is fabulous, and I loved her descriptions of her beloved books as well as the friendship that developed over the course of these letters. An absolute must read for book lovers. 5 stars.

>25 bell7: RidgewayGirl, thought you might be interested to know - apparently there is going to be a followup entitled Sense and Sensibility and Seamonsters. The EarlyWord blog has a post about it if you're interested.

9. Captain's Fury by Jim Butcher
Category: Fantasy

After two years of leading the First Aleran's defense against the Canim, Tavi has a new challenge when Senator Arnos and his Senatorial Legion come alongside to "help" them. Arnos has his own agenda - and he's Tavi's superior. Meanwhile, Isana and Araris decide it's time for Tavi to learn of his heritage.

This is my favorite of the Codex Alera series so far. The characters, engaging all along, really start developing and changing, and the pace stays compelling throughout. I loved every minute of it and started the next book right after finishing this one. 5 stars.

Thank you bell7, that trailer made me giggle. I'm not sure the concept deserves a second book, but I did like that!

yeah, I'm not sure I would read the second book either but it was fun. :-)

10. Princeps' Fury by Jim Butcher
Category: Fantasy

Only a few months after the story left off in Captain's Fury, Tavi sails to Canim lands to work out a treaty between his people and the Canes. Back in Alera, the Vord is still a very real threat and Gaius Sextus suddenly announces to all that they are at war.

If you've enjoyed the Codex Alera series so far, this one will not disappoint. Great characters and excellent pacing make it a fast read. I can't wait for the next one to come out! 4.5 stars.

11. On the Art of Reading by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch
Category: Nonfiction

Q's Legacy prompted me to try a collection of lectures by Arthur Quiller-Couch. The lectures brought together in this volume were first given from 1916-1918, all regarding reading English literature, particularly focused on either teaching it or studying it in college.

Quiller-Couch seems to me a very down-to-earth professor, and I like his approach to literature as something living, not academic, and at its best when put to use in life. I sometimes had difficulty following his thought, primarily because I was unfamiliar with much of the literature he quotes and because, ninety years later, his language can be rather hard to follow. Because of this, it was hard for me to say whether or not I agreed with him. I think I was mostly able to apprehend what he was saying, however, and I would like to read more of his lectures in the future. 4 stars.

12. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
Category: Author Revisits (or YA/Children's)

Auden has always been mature and responsible, excelling academically but missing out on all those regular high school things people do - like go to parties, hang out with friends, go to the prom (Jason of The Truth About Forever stood her up). The summer before she goes to college, she rather whimsically decides to go to her father's house and meet his new wife and baby Thisbe. While there, she meets a group of kids about her age and will learn whether or not people really can change.

Though I enjoyed the story and would consider rereading it, Auden is not one of my favorite protagonists. She was more distant, even though the narration was in first-person, and I found myself liking some of the secondary characters like Eli and Maggie and Heidi much more. A nice, light summer read that I would readily recommend to Sarah Dessen fans. 4.5 stars.

13. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Category: Grab Bag

Clare has known Henry since she was six, but Henry doesn't meet her until he's twenty-eight - a fact that could make for a very awkward first date. But both Clare and Henry are somewhat used to dealing with these side effects of Henry's time travel.

I've been meaning to read this book for awhile, and finally moved it to the top of my TBR pile with the movie coming out. Henry and Clare's love story is told in a nonlinear manner, which makes sense in terms of both character's knowledge of each other, particularly when they are. Despite the time travel, this is much more a romance than science fiction. Both Henry and Clare are fleshed out, real characters that I cared deeply about while reading their engrossing story. 4.5 stars.

14. A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn
Category: Author Revisits

Everyone knows the story of Sleeping Beauty: girl gets pricked by spindle, girl and castle and everyone fall asleep, dashing prince kisses said girl 1000 years later and voila! Happily ever after. But in this retelling, the kiss is only the beginning. The narrative shifts between Jake and Talia, each telling the reader their story. Talia fell asleep when Virginia was a colony and suddenly has to cope with the change of centuries - iPods and airplanes and whatnot. Jake was just a regular guy from Miami until he had this princess tagging along - and who would believe the truth anyways?

I often enjoy fairy tale retellings, but this one fell a little flatter than I expected. Part of it was that the characters didn't really change much, and I felt Jake could have been fleshed out more. Another part was that the modernization struck me as a little too self-conscious. Mostly, though, I think that because loved _Beastly_, another fairy tale retelling by the same author, so much my expectations were extremely high and I was mentally comparing the two stories. A quick and fun read, but probably not a reread.

15. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Category: YA/Children's

A little bit of shifting -- I've moved this over to my original 999 challenge under the "New-to-me author" category.

15. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
Category: Nonfiction

I've heard a lot about how funny Sedaris's essays are, so I decided to try one. I started listening to the audiobook read by the author, until I found out it was abridged. So, I read the book instead. The short stories in this book are not in chronological order, running the gamut from his childhood to his adulthood in Paris.

Sometimes sad, and often humorous, each story is about 4 to 10 pages long and I read the whole book in one afternoon. My favorite stories were the first and last - "Us and Them" and "Nuit of the Living Dead." I also listened to the former on that abridged audiobook, and I think I preferred the experience of having the author read the stories overall. When I try another book by Sedaris, I'll look for it in audio. 3.5 stars.

Edited to change numbering after moving the #15 book to a different challenge/category.

There is a Sedaris essay in one of his books (Me Talk Pretty One Day?) in which he discusses Christmas traditions around Europe. Even thinking about it makes me laugh.

That sounds like fun, Ridgewaygirl, I'll have to look into it. :-) Most of the essays were fun, though a few were, for me, a little too much information. I did enjoy the essays I listened to, I think it might just be more fun to hear these stories than read it.

16. The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King
Category: From my "To Read" Collection

During a bit of "peripatetic reading," fifteen-year-old Mary Russell literally stumbled upon a recently retired Sherlock Holmes. The legendary sleuth takes up the hobby of beekeeping and Mary as an apprentice. This feisty heroine has a mind like his, and she's not about to be a mere foil like Watson.

This first book in the series in an engaging tale with wonderful characters and a fun premise. Referring quite a bit to Conan Doyle's stories, reading this made me interested in revisiting the original as well as continuing this series. Though the set up takes some time (about four years goes by as their partnership develops), it's well worth it in the end. 4.5 stars.

17. Show Me God by Fred Heeren
Category: From my "To Read" Collection

In _Show Me God_, Heeren gives an overview of what scientists have learned about the cosmos in the 20th century, and stresses how science and the Bible are not incompatible. He includes interviews with scientists such as Stephen Hawking, George Smoot, and others, several of whom first made the discoveries he's discussing. He does an excellent job of explaining a lot of pretty heady science like the red shifts of galaxies and microwave radiation in the universe in a way that makes sense to the layperson.

The major strength of Heeren's approach is his interviews with scientists, only one of whom is a Christian himself. The science facts are absolutely fascinating, and I found myself remembering explanations from _A Brief History of Time_ and _A Short History of Nearly Everything_, both books that I had read earlier this year. Reading those books beforehand made this book much more comprehensible than it had been when I attempted to read it in high school. At the same time, Heeren's explanations were quite good, and I found myself understanding what the previous books were talking about much better for having read this one. Unfortunately, the weaknesses of this book kept me from rating it as high as I would have for the science alone. Heeren has two audiences in mind: the unbelieving skeptic and the Christian who wants to have more of a background in science to be able to witness to the unbelieving skeptic. This means that he not only introduces the book to both audiences in two different chapters, he also at times spends a paragraph or an entire chapter speaking to one group and not the other. It was very distracting to have him not talking to me for chunks of the book at a time. The second weakness was the gimmicky way in which he tried to make the science more accessible, which he did by inserting a science fiction story as the third chapter and by breaking things up with conversations with his imaginary editor Carl that were riddled with lame jokes. I thought that, overall, it would have worked better to let the science facts speak for themselves and let the reader both make the inferences for himself and decide when the science was getting too much and take a short break from reading (I did manage to do this on my own with _A Brief History of Time_, after all). All in all, I would keep the book for reference to the science facts and explanations, but would not read the entire book again. 3.5 stars.

18. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
Category: YA/Children's (could also be Fantasy or Author Revisits)

Clary's mother is still in the hospital, Jace is in trouble with the Clave and their Inquisitor, and a murderer on the loose appears to be targeting Downworlder teens and draining their blood. Not much time has passed since the first book ended, and this one jumps right back into the situation. Jace and Clary are trying to figure out how to act like brother and sister, and it's not going so well. Valentine is still on the loose, and his plan is anyone's guess.

Though fast moving and intense, this second book in the "Mortal Instruments" series is more about developing the main characters than about furthering the plot. On occasion, things seemed to be set up a little too neatly (a character just happened to be right where s/he needed to be for an action sequence) or forgetfully (Isabelle and Alec are suddenly Jace's stepsiblings?). But this was still an excellent installment and I can't wait to start City of Glass. 4.5 stars.

19. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
Category: Fantasy (could also be Author Revisits or YA)

At the end of City of Ashes, a woman named Madeleine suddenly informs Clary that she knows how to get her mother to wake up - and it involves finding the warlock named Ragnor Fell. Clary is ready to journey to Alicante, knowing that Fell will be there, along with Jace and the Lightwoods, who are going to discuss with the rest of the Shadowhunters what to do about Valentine's impending threat.

In the first two books, I especially enjoyed getting to know Jace, Clary and Simon (unfortunately, the secondary characters felt very underdeveloped) and the breakneck pacing of the stories. This book didn't hold up for me as much, primarily because a twist was telegraphed fairly early on and I'd figured it out much earlier than the characters themselves. I enjoyed the series, however, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to those who want a fast-paced fantasy. 4 stars.

Edited to try to fix touchstones

20. Shakespeare's Spy by Gary Blackwood
Category: Everything Shakespeare

As one of the prentices in the Chamberlain's Men, Widge has plenty to worry about: the plague, Queen Elizabeth's health and what that means for the future of theater in England, and the competition between his company (Shakespeare's company) and the Admiral's Men.

Like the other books in the series, Shakespeare's Spy is rife with historical details and definitely well-researched. I recognized both historical fact and surmise related to Shakespeare that I first learned in college classes, and it was fun to see Blackwood's take on it. Though Widge is a really fun character, I was often frustrated with the loose plot in which the most interesting elements were loose ends tied up from the previous two books. I never felt fully invested in what was happening, and things happened in such a meandering manner that I wasn't made to feel any tension either. So overall, it was a bit of a mixed bag and I was a little disappointed, especially since I liked The Shakespeare Stealer so much. 3.5 stars.

21. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Category: Grab Bag

The unnamed narrator, a young woman working as a companion to a rich American woman, meets the mysterious widower Max de Winter while in Monte Carlo. Days later, they are married and the new Mrs. de Winter must cope with taking the place of vivacious Rebecca.

I have mixed feelings about this book. As a classic Gothic novel, the descriptions were delightfully evocative, particularly in reference to the de Winter home, Manderley. Though the book read rather slowly, the tension and moody feel kept me reading without feeling bogged down by details. On the other hand, few of the characters were likable, except perhaps Frank Crawley, and I found myself very frustrated with the narrator and her decisions. I did like being introduced to the original Mrs. Danvers after reading about the "Mrs. Danvers clones" in the Thursday Next series. While I may not read this book again, I would try another book by this author. 3.5 stars.

I was watching a DVD of Monk and this billionaire character is going out. He tells his wife goodbye, says goodbye to a couple of maids, and then passes the housekeeper. "Good night, Mrs. Danvers." It made me laugh!

LOL...I don't think I've seen that episode, that's funny!

22. Labor Day by Joyce Maynard
Category: From the library's "new books" shelves

Do you remember those pivotal moments in your life, those memories of maybe a few days in which your life changed completely? The Labor Day weekend that Henry was 13 was like that for him and his mother, Adele. Sometime in the 1980s, Henry and his mother are living in an isolated home in New Hampshire until Frank Chambers enters their lives. He is an escaped convict who comes to their house to hide out, and the experience will leave neither Henry nor Adele unchanged.

Henry narrates the story in a slightly meandering sort of way, with several flashbacks that allow the reader to know him and his mother far beyond what happens in just those five days. There are no quotation marks, a device that usually annoys me but surprisingly worked in this story because I felt more firmly in Henry's head. Henry, Adele, and Frank are wonderful characters; I cared about what happened to them and wanted to spend more time with them when the story was over. Though there was more sex/thinking about sex (this is a 13-year-old boy after all) than I tend to like in books, it made sense in terms of theme and Henry's development; really, the story was much more about love. 4.5 stars.

23. Singled Out by Virginia Nicholson
Category: Nonfiction

In the British census of 1921, census takers found that there were nearly 2 million more women that men, largely because of the number of single young men that had died in World War 1. The single women of the time were known as the "Surplus Women," and in a time when marriage and children was the expected lot of all women, the disparate numbers were a bit of a shock. Virginia Nicholson writes about several of these women who made their own ways in all walks of life from all classes. Drawing heavily on written and unwritten memoirs as well as some interviews with those women still living in the early part of the 21st century, she focuses on the personal stories of the "bachelor girls" who created social change between the World Wars.

In reading, I was most struck by the social stigma of being an unmarried woman. Many of these women truly had no choice, while others would have chosen the single life regardless, but the expectations were such that the unmarried were looked upon as failures. Some women were sorry they never married, particularly if their sweetheart had died during the war, but others gloried in their singlehood and wouldn't have had it any other way. Nicholson sometimes seemed too ready to assume that these women were unhappy (once surmising this even after quoting someone who said she was content). The individual stories of some well-known and other unsung women of a generation that hugely affected society's perception of the "spinster" were fascinating.

24. Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
Category: Nonfiction

Reporter Christopher McDougall took up running as a way of getting in shape - and found that this sport can really hurt. Intriguingly, he learned of a tribe in Mexico - the Tarahumara - who run far beyond marathon-length races in rubber sandals, yet are never plagued by running injuries. This story recounts his trip to meet them, some studies related to running and his own journey of "relearning running."

Probably most plagued by having so much information, this was a difficult audiobook for listening to in small chunks because of all the threads that he has going at once that he adds to tangentially. I felt like I learned a little here and there, but would have gotten more out of it as a book because it would have been easier to follow all the different threads of the account - what's going on in Mexico, how McDougall became more of a runner, etc. Also, there are a couple of studies and theories related to running that he makes clear are not the consensus that I wanted to look up in an index in case I could hunt down the original articles and related materials. While there was much interesting information, I think there was a little too much going on and competing for my attention. 4 stars.

25. A Supremely Bad Idea by Luke Dempsey
Category: From my "To Read" Collection

When Luke Dempsey first purchased his home in Pennsylvania, he had no idea that it was about to begin an obsession. But when a co-worker and his wife visited the place and started showing Luke all the amazing birds that lived in his backyard, his birding habit was borne. Eventually, Luke and his friends traveled to various places in the U.S. in search of elusive birds - those that live only in a particular habitat or those that are endangered. _A Supremely Bad Idea_ chronicles their travels, the birds they saw, and Luke's growing awareness of conservation.

I found Luke's narrative style distracting and a bit annoying. Luke's humor is often sarcastic, which I found to be off-putting, especially when he waxed political. Instead of being funny, the sarcastic political barbs seemed aimed more at making the opposition look stupid and as one who didn't always agree with him (though I appreciate and often agreed with his concern for conservation), I didn't appreciate it. The part of this book I was most drawn to was the description of the birds Luke saw. His narrative descriptions allowed me to bird vicariously through him to imagine birds that I do not have the funds to travel and see (I wish I could!). I also loved the photographs, wished there were more, and really enjoyed the fact that they were all taken by the author and his friends. On the whole, a mixed bag. 3 stars.

26. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Category: Grab Bag

This year's Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction is composed of 13 short stories, most of which are set in a small town in Maine. Though each story can be read on its own, taken together, they tell the stories of several people's lives, most notably that of Olive Kitteridge herself. All of the characters are richly drawn, and several are unforgettable. Many of the stories wrenched my heart while I was reading, but they were also full of hope and spirit.

The book as a whole was well-crafted, from the placement of stories (which was not always chronological) to the fluid writing to the carefully chosen titles. I found myself torn after each story, wanting both to pause and ponder and at the same time to keep reading to learn what happens to Olive and Henry and Christopher and their neighbors and friends. Highly recommended. 5 stars.

27. Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Category: Author Revisits

Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is just a wizard trying his best to pay his bills through a PI job. Sometimes he helps out the Chicago police force with those jobs that just can't be explained. When the cops call with just such a case - a gory murder that could not have happened by any means but magic - Dresden may be in over his head.

This first novel is something of a mixed bag. I liked Dresden's character and his sense of humor, though I sometimes found his first person narration awkwardly conversational. The violence was sometimes a little too graphic for me. The plot starts out pretty slowly, eventually building to a driving pace by the end. Having only read the Codex Alera series by this one, I enjoyed seeing the variety in Jim Butcher's writing. 4 stars.

28. By These Ten Bones by Clare B. Dunkle
Category: YA/Children's (could move to Fantasy or Author Revisits)

When a couple of mysterious strangers appear in her small Scottish town with no lord, Maddie's life is never the same. The old man, a drunkard, lives off the work of the young man with him, a wood carver. The young man is silent and withdrawn; Maddie is intrigued by the carver, and wants to discover his secret.

I really loved The Hollow Kingdom series, so I admittedly had expectations going in. In this one, the plot kept me reading, but I was a little disappointed in how short the story was and how little the characters were developed. A good read, but not a favorite. 4 stars.

29. Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott
Category: YA/Children's

Kate's life can't possibly get any worse. For starters, her dad quit his job to start selling vitamins in the mall, she's stuck helping him and, oh yeah, her former best friend acts like she doesn't exist anymore. Over the course of several months of the school year, Kate narrates what she's dealing with: school, friends, popularity, family, and just about everything life throws her way.

The characters and their struggles were very real, especially the main character's, but Kate gives away more than she realizes about her mother, her brother, and her crush. This was sometimes frustrating because I could usually figure out what was going on faster than Kate did. The other thing that frustrated me was how quickly Kate's problems are resolved. Up until then, a lot of her issues with friends and popularity had struck me as very real and problems I could relate to remembering my own teen years, so the sudden epiphany seemed a bit contrived. I still enjoyed the story enough to seek out more books by this author. 4 stars.

30. You Just Don't Understand by Deborah Tannen
Category: From my "To Read" collection

Have you ever had a conversation with someone of the opposite sex that seemed like you were operating on different wavelengths, or that the conversation you thought you were having was interpreted completely differently by the other party? Dr. Tannen argues that it's not in your head: women and men in conversation is much closer to cross-cultural communication than we might imagine. She then goes on to enumerate the many ways that miscommunication arises based on the different ways we tend to speak and interpret conversations: through the lens of status (men) or connection (women).

Dr. Tannen's research, including transcripts of conversations from studies of boys, girls, men, and women of various ages and anecdotal evidence from real conversations persuasively makes the case for the status and connection at work in every conversation. I appreciated that the author never makes a moral judgment about the way one or the other interprets the conversation. She merely explains what's going on from each point of view, giving each party the language to express what they're trying to do or say. I recognized many conversations as ones I have had with my brother, my father, and male friends. Some of the topics she touches on, such as high-involvement/high-considerate and direct/indirect ways of speaking are beneficial even in conversations with people of the same sex (for example, as a "high-involvement speaker" I can now explain to my family that I really do end a sentence with "and" waiting for someone to overlap my speech). Because she ties everything back to the original ideas of status and connection, her comments on conversations do become a bit repetitive after awhile. But her conversational style and clear presentation of a persuasive argument make this book worth reading. 4 stars.

31. The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien
Category: Lost Book Club

This book operates on its own internal logic and is really hard to summarize as a result. In the beginning, the unnamed narrator - an orphan obsessed with the works of the (fictional) philosopher de Selby - is living with a man named Jack Divney who comes up with the idea of killing Old Mathers to fund the narrator's publishing of his critical work on de Selby. They do so, and eventually Divney sends the narrator to Old Mathers' place to get the black box with money. There in a cabin (this scene in particular reminded me of Lost, which references the book in a couple of episodes) where he meets with Old Mathers, apparently alive again. From there, the oddities begin to pile up.

Definitely the only book I've ever read that was made less comprehensible by looking up words I was unfamiliar with, The Third Policeman is pretty bizarre. If it weren't for Lost and the fact that there are some concrete similarities (a black box much like the "box" Ben tells Locke about, the cabin & an interaction with a dead man, etc.), I would have given up early. That being said, I'm glad I pressed on because once I got to the end I kind of understood what was going on and I thought what the author accomplishes with the story is interesting. Still, it's the sort of book you have to really think about and almost works better for a discussion or classroom than for pleasure reading. 3 stars.

32. Seeing Things by Patti Hill
Category: From my "To Read" Collection

Birdie Wainwright lives with an advanced case of "wet" macular degeneration, but she's learned to live very independently by making allowances, thank you very much. When a hallucination of her stairs as purple flowers with a boulder causes her to stumble and break her leg, she recuperates at her son Andy's house. Relations with Andy and his second wife, Suzanne, have been strained, to say the least (though grandson Fletcher is a doll), but Birdie is prepared to love this family if it kills them, with a little help from God and a lot of prayer. Oh yeah, and ever since some shu mai with Fletcher, Huckleberry Finn has been showing up - and he talks.

This sweet story had a lot of promise, but unfortunately too many flaws for me to really enjoy fully. The characters seemed a bit flat to me, hampered by Birdie's first person narration and her strong personality - I kept interpreting them differently than she did, and wanting her to focus on different things about them as a result. Sometimes the author didn't include character names when several of the "Bats" (a group of ladies with the same condition as Birdie) are talking, which may have been intentional but made it very difficult for me to differentiate between them instead of realizing them as individual characters. I liked the idea of Birdie's conversations with Huck Finn, but never quite figured out its purpose in terms of furthering the story. Finally, the ending was extremely disjointed. The last few chapters are several weeks or months apart from each other, but the timeline of events become really hazy in the wrap up. I would recommend it to fans of gentle, inspirational reads. 3 stars.

33. Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier
Category: Author Revisits

After her mother's death, Mary Yellan must leave her farm in Helston and move in with her aunt and uncle. Her uncle by marriage, Joss Merlyn, is abusive and a drunkard, and her Aunt Patience, whom Mary remembered as vivacious, has been cowed by her husband. Joss is also the landlord of Jamaica Inn, a place with a bad name and a mystery, as Mary discovers that her uncle's business runs towards illegal activities. For the sake of her aunt, she doesn't say anything at first, but as she learns more of what's really going on, she's not sure how long she can keep silent.

I once read that the Gothic novel was the precursor to the romantic suspense genre, and this novel is a good example of that: the love interest with a dark past, mystery and danger, are all present. The suspenseful ambiance is well done, as might be expected from this author, with vivid descriptions. Though not as well-written as Rebecca, I think partially because I liked the protagonists more and partially because I had a better idea of what to expect, I liked this story a little more. 4.5 stars.

34. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
Category: YA/Children's

Jenna Fox wakes up from the coma she's been in for over a year with severe amnesia after an "accident." Her doctor father promises her that she'll start to regain her memories slowly but surely; Jenna does, but she struggles to put the pieces together about what she knows about herself before and now. Her mother gives her a set of discs of Jenna at various ages; but despite this, Jenna senses her parents are hiding something.

Set sometime in the future with medical advancement and bioengineering so far gone that native plants are struggling for survival, this is a science fiction that doesn't get bogged down in the details of The Future even while exploring ethics of the scientific and medical advancements made. Jenna's normal teenage struggle with identity is multiplied tenfold by her memory loss and the unfolding of her parents secrets. Not a perfect book, but a fast-paced read for me because I wanted to know more about Jenna and the decisions she would make. 4.5 stars.

35. Untangling My Chopsticks by Victoria Abbott Riccardi
Category: Nonfiction

Victoria Abbott had always been in love with Japan, perhaps because her grandparents often traveled there and brought back exotic gifts. So when she had the chance to live in Kyoto and learn the art of tea kaiseki, she jumped at it. Tea kaiseki is a meal consisting of several courses that is served before the better-known tea ceremony. It is practically an art form, with each course tied in somehow to the seasons or to the climactic dish, and replete with symbolic meanings. While there, she attended the Mushanokji school to learn this type of cooking, taught English, and learned much about Japanese culture and philosophy that greatly impacted her life. At the end of several chapters, the author includes a few recipes (27 in total) of the food discussed in that chapter.

I enjoyed the idea of this travelogue/cookbook and the window it gives into a lesser-known aspect of Japanese culture. Niggling details lessened my enjoyment, however, particularly the general choppiness of the narrative from sentence fragments to short chapters that felt tacked on to lengthen the book. On one occasion, the author oversimplified, identifying manga only as the comics that businessmen would read to fulfill their fantasies of school girls, rather than the broader range of comics for varying age groups that it truly is. This made me wonder if there were any other areas where she described something in broad strokes that might in actuality be a little different from her interpretation. She also tended towards repetitiveness, such as continually pointing out the difference between tea kaiseki and restaurant kaiseki, rather than mentioning it once, and then depending on her wonderful descriptions of each to reinforce her point. Riccardi was at her best when she describes the food she encounters - from the taste to the presentation to the symbolic meaning of ingredients - which made me want to try some of the recipes included. 3 stars.

36. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Category: Grab Bag

Guy Montag is a firefighter - one of those men who burn the libraries and homes of individuals who dare to keep forbidden books. A chance encounter with a thoughtful girl causes him to start noticing small things in life that he never paid attention to before, and Montag begins to ask questions about his life and his work. Bradbury writes convincingly of a future dystopia in which various groups banned anything that offended them, an action that eventually escalated into full-scale banning and burning of books. At that point, however, a mind-numbed, unthinking public reacted apathetically, resulting in the world Guy Montag knows. Bradbury suggests that what's really at stake is people's intellect: "Take it where you can find it, in old phonograph records, old motion pictures, and in old friends; look for it in nature and look for it in yourself. Books were only one type of receptacle where we stored a lot of things we were afraid we might forget. There is nothing magical in them at all. The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us" (82-83). In this world, people no longer sit and talk, exercise their intellect, disagree (politely or otherwise), or think for themselves.

I was impressed with how many of Bradbury's ideas about the future remain relevant in a science fiction novel written over fifty years ago. I was challenged by a lot of his ideas and sometimes slowed myself down while reading, but his writing style often compelled me to keep going. With long but flowing sentences and thought patterns interspersed with a lot of dialog, the book reads fast and is surprisingly short. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a thought-provoking read. 5 stars.

I chose to read this for Banned Books Week - as far as I can tell, it wasn't banned or challenged itself, but it was thematically relevant.

37. Geek Magnet by Kieran Scott
Category: YA/Children's

KJ Miller can't figure out why all the geeks in school seem to be attracted to her. She's pretty much an average high school student, the stage manager of her school's production of "Grease," but doesn't have the popularity of someone like Cameron Richardson, the really cool jock she's had a crush on for forever. But when Tama Gold promises to help her get a backbone and maybe start planting some seeds with Cameron, thinks start looking up. Or so KJ thinks.

The stage is set by page 40, all the players in place - the good girl, the popular crowd, the best friend, and the boy who asks her for help getting Tama's attention. I knew where things were going, but the draw to this book was watching KJ's character grow as she starts to speak up more and even as she realizes how Tama's using her. The relationships described reminded me a lot of my own high school days. 4.5 stars.

Darn...this category is filling up too fast!

38. Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer by Laini Taylor
Category: Fantasy

Faerie Magpie Windwitch, granddaughter of the West Wind, travels with her band of crow brothers ridding the world of the devils that "mannies" have let out of their bottles in the mistaken belief that they will receive three wishes for their trouble. But when something bigger than a run-of-the-mill snag is let loose, a darkness full of hunger who hunts unlike any devil Magpie has ever seen, she returns to Dreamdark to enlist the help of the Magruwen, the very Djinn who put the seal on its bottle.

When I first read this two years ago, I was struck by the originality of this story. Not only are Magpie and her crows an inventive idea, but also the mythology of the Djinn and the Faerie people was intriguing. I didn't remember a lot of the details of the story, however, so when the sequel, Silksinger, came out I checked this out of the library to read again. It was a much different experience this time around, because I remembered the parts of the story that had most struck me as original the first time around. There wasn't the same newness and discovery or driving intensity to know what happened, and at first I was afraid that the story wouldn't hold up to my memory of it. But the story sneaked up on me, insinuating itself so when I read the climax and end this morning I truly didn't remember how things ended and just needed to know what would happen to Magpie and Talon and the crows, and please oh please let it be good. I finished it with a smile on my face and can't wait to read the sequel. 5 stars.

39. Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
Category: YA/Children's

Johnny Tremain is an apprentice to a silversmith in Boston right before the American Revolution. One of his fellow 'prentices plays a trick on Johnny, causing him to burn his hand in such a way that he can no longer ply his trade. In despair, Johnny seeks out a new trade. He meets the Sons of Liberty and finds himself involved with the beginnings of the Revolutionary War.

I first read this book when I was in elementary school or middle school, and remembered enjoying it quite a bit. Since it took me a month to listen to the audiobook, it's hard to say if it held up to the same enjoyment I had as a student. Certainly different aspects of it stood out to me this time around - I remembered his relationship with Cilla quite differently from how it actually was, for example - and it didn't seem quite the same story I remembered. I've left it unrated because it took so long to read that I couldn't really remember what I thought of the book as a whole.

Johnny Tremain was one of my favorite childhood books. I guess I now need to reread it. Just tell me--was Rab as wonderful?

I probably liked Rab better this time around than I did as a child...then it was all Johnny and Cilla for me (though why I read the book as a romance, I don't know). You'll have to tell me what you think after rereading. :-)

It was really tough to make the comparison, though, partly because it took me a month to finish it and I forgot what I thought about the beginning and partly because in listening to the audiobook I had the whole added layer of the narrator (she had an American accent and did a fake British accent for the soldiers, which annoyed me terribly for some reason).

40. Silksinger by Laini Taylor
Category: Fantasy

Whisper Silksinger, the last of her clan, must protect the Azazel - one of the Djinn who created the world - and put him on his throne in Nazreen to waken him. Meanwhile, Magpie Windwitch travels the world trying to find the remaining Djinn, who must be awoken to save the Tapestry, the very fabric of the world, from falling apart forever.

The sequel to Blackbringer starts right where the first left off. Shifting back and forth primarily between Whisper and Magpie's travels, the narrative gives the reader the broad scope of what's going on, allowing you to see far beyond the characters and figure out major plot points ahead of time. But the pace is fast and I enjoyed spending time with these characters. I'm very much looking forward to the next book in the series. 4.5 stars.

41. A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck
Category: Author Revisits (could also be YA/Children's)

Bob Barnhart is a preacher's kid; he and his family have moved to a new town where his father is going to be a Methodist minister. No one in the town seems ready to lay out the welcome mat. In fact, they seem downright eccentric, especially their next door neighbor Mrs. Dowdel.

Readers who have already discovered A Long Way from Chicago and A Year Down Yonder will enjoy revisiting beloved characters from a new point of view, and readers who have read neither will not lose out a whit. Richard Peck delivers yet another hilarious tale, memorable characters, and a young boy who learns quite a lot about the gifts humans can give to each other. 4.5 stars.

I'd forgotten all about Richard Peck! Ghosts I Have Been was one of my favorite childhood books.

RidgewayGirl, I haven't read Ghosts I Have Been, but I've read several books by Richard Peck over the past few years. Some of my favorites are A Year Down Yonder (which I've been trying to get my sister to read and she refuses), Here Lies the Librarian and Past Perfect, Present Tense. All a lot of fun, I love his humorous storytelling especially.

42. The Broken Teaglass by Emily Arsenault
Category: Library new books shelf

Just out of college, Billy gets a job as a definer for the Samuelson dictionary in sleepy Claxton, Massachusetts. When looking through the citations files (commonly shortened to "cits") in answer to a letter, he and his co-worker Mona stumble upon a rather unusual citation. Taken from The Broken Teaglass, the cit is longer than normal and seems to be a story that takes place at Samuelson. What's going on?

This is a rather unusual mystery, not merely because of its setting but also because it doesn't have the building pace that mysteries generally have until you reach the denouement. I was often a step ahead of Mona or Billy, and figured out the ending early. I kept reading because I liked the premise and the setting (though I was a little disappointed to learn in the acknowledgments that the author "took liberties" with the lexicographical process and didn't explain which parts), and being rather dialogue-heavy the book read fast even when the pace wasn't flying along. 4 stars.

43. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Category: Lost Book Club

A young governess receives a position in which she will look after a girl and, when he is home from school, a boy without contacting their guardian uncle at all. The governess is nervous and sleep-deprived, but Flora and Miles seem to be perfect little children and everything goes smoothly - until the governess begins seeing ghosts who - she is certain - want her young charges.

*SPOILERS* The ambiguity of the story (are there really ghosts, or is the governess insane?) lends itself well to multiple readings and indeed I found my reading much changed this time around. I first read this short story for a college class, and found it is just as horrifying as a reread. This time, instead of being scared of the ghosts, I was more terrified by the governess herself - her strange turns of thought, her sudden adamance and certainty about the ghosts purpose even when no one else can see them, and finally the sinister ending. 4.5 stars.

Finally, I should say a few words because I read this in the "Lost" category. The first orientation tape is found inside this book, and "Miles" is a character name in both stories. I think it's interesting that "The Turn of the Screw" can be interpreted in more than one way, which reminds me of the complexity of "Lost" and the myriads of theories about how it will end...

44. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Category: Grab Bag

Julia Jarmond is an American living in Paris with her French husband, Bernard, and her daughter Zoe. Her boss gives her an assignment: to write an article about the Vel' d'Hiv', the round-up of Jews in Paris by the French police on July 16, 1942, for the 60th anniversary of that date. Julia's story is intertwined with that of one little girl who was captured, along with her parents, on that fateful day.

Though Julia is ostensibly the main character, this is really the little girl's story. She is the character most fully drawn, and it is her story that took up most of my emotional attachment while reading. The modern-day characters seemed flat to me, perhaps because they were all seen through Julia's point of view, and she tended to think of all of her in-laws as looking down on her as "the American." The author (or perhaps the translator) had an incessant habit of using sentence fragments, and the story was heart-wrenching though predictable. Sarah's Key is an emotional story about a little-known historical event, but not my favorite Holocaust story. 3.5 stars.

An update: I am adding a few books to the category lists that I read earlier in the year. They did not fit in my first 999 challenge...but they do in this one, and I've finally decided to count them. :-)

ETA: this brings me up to 51 for the 999 x 2; in most cases, if not all, my review can be found on the work page.

Sarah's Key was my first Early Reviewer book and I also thought that the book had translation problems. I actually got an email from the author telling me that she had written the book originally in English. She's bilingual, but I got the feeling that she was more comfortable in French. I thought some of the word choices and sentence constructions were more French than English. Still, it was exciting to hear from an author.

I was a little confused about the whole translation thing...the record in my library says "Translated from the French," yet the author's bio in the book said this was her first book written in English. I also felt that there were some words, phrases, etc. that seemed a little awkward in English. That's really cool that you heard from the author, though!

52-ish (I've lost track with all this shifting stuff). Reduced Shakespeare: The Attention-Impaired Reader's Guide to the World's Best Playwright (Abridged) by Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor

So, you've watched The compleat works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) and wanted to learn more. Oh. You haven't watched the Reduced Shakespeare Co.'s play at all? Well, get thee hence and do it, otherwise this book will not make any sense at all. There. You've seen it? Good.

Right, so after watching the Compleat Works, you now need to read the Compleat Guide to Shakespeare: his life, his works, his movies. And in this hysterical (yet surprisingly informative) guide, you will be treated to one of the most irreverent biographies and literary criticisms you've ever read. They include a short criticism of every play, and then go through movie versions and tell you which versions they think are the most notable (if any exist at all), rating each on a scale of 0 to 5 Bards. In the movies section, they also include those movies that are somewhat loosely based on Shakespeare's plays, such as 10 Things I Hate About You. They're not afraid to tell it like they see it, and I was somewhat gratified to see that they disliked the same two versions of A Midsummer Night's Dream that I detested in college. In fact, the movie section is worth the price of the book, and I'm holding onto my library copy a little longer so I can make a note of the ones I want to see. 4.5 stars.

I've changed my Lost category to Rereads. Basically, this will free up some space in the categories that were filling too fast as well as allow me to reread the Harry Potter series (something I've been wanting to do for awhile) without all but 2 of the books becoming "off-challenge." Some Lost reads will probably find their way into other categories.

53. When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
Category: Nonfiction

David Sedaris' latest collection contains 21 essays and a final, longer essay, almost a novella of its own. In this audiobook read by the author, some of the essays included are live readings. His deadpan delivery enhanced the humor in his stories, so I enjoyed this more than the first book that I read, Dress Your Family in Corduroy in Denim. On the other hand, having the live readings made me feel a little strange when I wasn't laughing along with the audience. He was funny, sure, but every line wasn't as funny as they seemed to think.

While I enjoyed it overall, I don't really feel the need to seek out more of his books. I've been wondering to myself why I don't like his stories more. He writes about his life and family in such a way that comes across as self-deprecating and funny rather than narcissistic or whiny. What it comes down to, I think, is just too much information. I just don't need to know everything he shares, like about a worm coming out of Hugh's leg when he was a kid. So while I could see myself recommending his works to the right reader, I'm not planning on reading any more myself. 4 stars.

54. Made in America by Bill Bryson
Category: Nonfiction

Have you ever wondered about the origins of Americanisms such as "lunch" and "cafeteria"? Or maybe you're interested in words that originated from the movies or sports. Bill Bryson gives you a whirlwind tour of all this and more in his "informal history of the English language in the United States."

Beginning with the Pilgrims and making his way through both chronologically and thematically to recent times, Bryson has a way of highlighting the humorous aspects of history and linguistic quirkiness of our language. Some of interesting tidbits (note: a word that was originally "titbits" and changed in order to be less offensive) I learned included:

--Englishmen bemoaning Americanisms entering the language is nothing new
--the Pilgrims had three or four different names and types of mush
--during the American Revolution, people were not unconcerned with spelling, but merely had more variants to choose from (and even argue about!)

I'll have as much fun recommending this book as I did reading it. 4.5 stars.

55. The Paris Review Interviews, I edited by Philip Gourevitch
Category: Nonfiction

Full disclosure: I didn't want to read this book. I'd requested it from the library on a whim after hearing Philip Gourevitch on Nancy Pearl's "Book Lust" podcast talking about his work selecting the "best of" author interviews from The Paris Review for this collection series. The book came in along with a bunch of other interlibrarary loans, and as the due date approached, I picked it up. I hadn't read many of the featured authors, and those that I had were not really to my taste. So I started reading it with the plan that after the requisite 50 pages, I would be able to return it to the library and thus whittle down my stack.

Then I read the first interview, featuring Dorothy Parker. She was a hoot! I've never read any of her stories, but after so enjoying her sense of humor, I was ready to check out the book of her complete short stories that my library owns. Still not entirely convinced, I approached the next interviews with some trepidation: Truman Capote and Ernest Hemingway. Both men had such intriguing things to say about their writing. Alright, so I probably won't read any Hemingway besides The Old Man and the Sea which I read for school, but it was awfully encouraging to see him poking a little bit of fun at the folks who saw a symbol in everything. Now in the full thrall of these interviews, I started taking my time, reading two or three interviews a day, spacing it out so I didn't get my authors confused or crowd out a particularly satisfying one with the next.

Two in particular still stand out to me: those with Kurt Vonnegut and Robert Gottlieb. Vonnegut's impressed me because it helped me to understand his writing a bit more. I read Slaughterhouse-Five last year, and didn't really like it. I could appreciate what he was doing, but had trouble following and making sense of the narrative, and I had the sneaking suspicion that the author was dangling the story in front of me with the taunt "I know more than you know." As he talked about his experience in World War 2 during this interview, especially the bombing of Dresden, I started to realize that much of this was what he knew from the war and began to wonder if maybe he didn't really know how to make sense of it either. Though it didn't change my personal opinion of the book, it gave me a bit more insight into what went into it. The second stand out was the discussion with Robert Gottlieb. Rather than a traditional interview, it was more like the transcript of a documentary in which not only he himself but several of the writers whom he had edited talked about working with him in the editing process. This method gave me a very fleshed out, holistic impression of him as an editor and a reader, and I really enjoyed the fresh approach.

So from reluctantly picking it up with the plan of abandoning it, I've transformed in the reading to not wanting to return it to the library. My wishlist has grown by three books, because I'm certain I'll want to read the other compilations as well. 5 stars.

I now totally have to read that book. Thanks a lot!

you're welcome. ;-)

56. Fire by Kristin Cashore
Category: Library "new books"

For readers of Graceling, the prologue re-introduces a familiar character some 20-30 years before in another location. Instead of setting the tone for the book, it conveys some essential information to the reader before promptly switching gears in Chapter 1. For the story isn't really about Immiker but about Fire, a seventeen-year-old who as a half-monster has the disconcerting ability to dazzle normal folks, speak directly to their minds and, if their minds are open to her, even affect their behavior. One day, a poacher accidentally shoots her with an arrow. When he is taken in for questioning, however, he himself is killed. This sets off a chain of events involving political intrigue and a kingdom on the edge of civil war, in part because of the actions of the old king and Fire's own monster father.

I admire Cashore's ability to make very flawed yet sympathetic characters. Fire struggles with her fear of her power and the difficult determination of morality in using it. Some readers may be intimidated in trying to keep track of everything that's going on, but I found it a compelling read. 4.5 stars.

57. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Category: Library "new" books (could also move to children's/YA)

On April 27, 1979, twelve-year-old Miranda begins writing to a mysterious "you," a person who has apparently told her about some things that are going to happen before they do. Almost as a way of getting her thoughts in order, Miranda begins an account of some things that happened the year before, beginning with when her very-best-friend Sal got punched and stopped hanging out with her. Because in the last few months of 1978, everything changed.

This is a part-mystery, part-science fiction story that I found just a little hard to follow at first, trying to keep track of what happened in 1978 and what was happening in Miranda's "now." But once I got the hang of it, the story was a fascinating puzzle involving friendship, the possibilities of time travel, and A Wrinkle in Time (Miranda's favorite book). For much of the book, the interest stems from the puzzle, so I wouldn't recommend it to young teen readers that need a jump start and fast pace to their reads. For those that don't mind a slower pace, however, it's definitely a rewarding read. 4.5 stars.

58. The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan
Category: Children's/YA
Amy and Dan Cahill are orphans whose parents died in a fire; their guardian Aunt Beatrice, is pretty much hands-off, but their grandmother, Grace Cahill, made up for that. But now Grace is dead, and her will is rather strange to say the list. A select few of her relatives are given the choice: $1 million or joining in a race to discover something absolutely amazing - but they need to find the 39 clues to get there. When Amy and Dan agree to the challenge, they had no idea what they were getting in to and how much their lives were in danger.

My eleven-year-old sister has been begging me to read these books for ages. I finally agreed to listen to the audiobook, which we both did together in over two days. It's fast-paced, full of history, mystery and adventure, and has some humorous moments, too. David Pittu does a fair job of reading, though his accents are terrible (and there are a lot - a British pair of siblings, a Korean man, a Russian woman, and an au pair that is trilingual in French, Spanish, and English yet speaks with an appalling Spanish accent). I can see why this series interests kids, though I personally found it extremely over-the-top, particularly when the kids convince their au pair to take them out of the country and not tell their guardian. I can just see the kidnapping charges...but then, I'm not the target audience. The series also has a tie-in cards collection and online component where kids can compete to win prizes. 4 stars.

59. The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
Category: Grab Bag

On a regular old February afternoon, Mrs. Wilkins chances across an advertisement for a house to let in Italy for the month of April. Such a trip would, of course, be extravagant, but she can't seem to get the ad out of her mind. Then, she sees Mrs. Arbuthnot perusing the same advertisement. These two women, who up until now have never spoken, hit upon a plan: find two others to join them on this selfish trip and split the cost accordingly. Just imagine all the good this holiday could do them...

This delightful tale introduces the reader to four women - Lotty Wilkins, Rose Arbuthnot, Mrs. Fisher, and Lady Caroline Dester. All of them have their own private unhappiness, reasons that they have decided to come away and want to be left alone. Their internalized thoughts, dreams, and loneliness make up the majority of the plot, as their stay in San Salvatore works in magic on them. The warm and languid tone of the writing matches their ideal Italian holiday of rest and relaxation, and is infused with humor. A truly enchanting read. 4.5 stars.

60. Shade by John Olson
Category: Grab Bag

Hailey, a graduate student in San Fransisco, is just trying to get away from the date that her temporary roommate tried to foist upon her, when she has an absolutely bizarre experience of feeling something coming after her which leaves her absolutely full of fear and hunger. Trying to escape, she is accosted in the park by a man with a knife. A homeless man, Melchi, saves her and brings her to the hospital, but when Hailey tries to explain to the doctors what's going on, they're convinced she has paranoid schizophrenia. She's not sure who to believe, but she's soon drawn into events smacking of the supernatural.

I picked this up to read before I receive the sequel from Early Reviewers. It's solid Christian suspense fiction, dominated by pace, and definitely worthy of the comparisons to Ted Dekker. Though the events are unbelievable after stepping back from the book, during the reading it's a scary adrenaline rush that had me reading it straight through all afternoon. 4.5 stars.

Well, I just started going through filling in my categories to see where I have wiggle room. The answer: not much. If I read all of the books I currently have either out of the library or on its way, as well as the Harry Potter series (as I'm currently planning), then I really only have space for 1. my own books and 2. Shakepeare's plays. But I guess that's the nature of getting near the end - 21 books to go in about 6 weeks is a pretty tall order, though!

61. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Category: Author Revisits

Walter Hartright is a drawing teacher whose friend suggests a position for him out in Cumberland, teaching two young ladies. On the road home one night, he suddenly encounters a young woman who is dressed all in white. She asks him the way to London, and he points it out to her. After she leaves, he discovers that she was escaping from an insane asylum. Soon afterward, he meets his pupils, Miss Halcombe and Miss Fairlie. But the mystery surrounding the "woman in white" are numerous. Who was she? Is she really insane? Why was she so afraid that Walter might know a certain man of property?

This story is complicated and impossible to summarize fully without giving away numerous spoilers. As the footnotes doing so were one of the disappointments for me reading, I've tried to avoid doing so here. The format of the book is interesting: several people's accounts tell the events in a semi-chronological order. I enjoyed it at times, but was often frustrated with how very long the narrator (particularly when it was Hartright) took to tell me something very simple. Identity is a major theme in the novel: Who is the woman in white? Who is Sir Percival or Count Fosco? And once someone's identity is stolen, how can it be restored? I liked Marian Halcombe, but Hartright struck me as very like young David Copperfield and less aware of his own melodramatic tendencies. Laura Fairlie was very childlike and never seemed very real to me. The Moonstone was more to my taste. 3.5 stars.

62. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
Category: Grab Bag (category complete 11/15/09)

What if the Queen of England started reading? That is the premise of this novella, which begins with the Queen visiting a bookmobile and borrowing a book out of politeness. While she doesn't love the book, she does come back and discovers a new love that could change her life (not to mention drive her advisers mad).

Though an interesting idea, I felt a little left behind when it came to English politics. I had a really hard time following the time progression in this story, but the Queen seems to read very fast and have a lot of free time. She very quickly moves from reading Ivy Compton-Burnett and finding it dry to reading Proust and loving it. I had trouble buying how quickly she loved the Great Works of Literature. Oh, and did I want to talk back about some of her likes and dislikes when it came to that! Not a bad read, but it doesn't hold a candle to my favorite fiction-about-reading, If on a Winter's Night a Traveler. 3.5 stars.

My reactions to The Woman in White and The Uncommon Reader were very similar to yours. In contrast, my (adult) daughter loved The Woman in White (she also loves Dickens, and I don't), but thought The Uncommon Reader was stupid.

Hi ivyd, it's nice to know I'm not the only one who had a mixed reaction to The Woman in White, as several people were telling me how much they loved it while I was reading it I almost felt guilty. :-) But then, as you point out each individual's taste is so different, not to mention that it's hard enough to express my own taste at a given moment (mood has such a huge impact, doesn't it?).

More shifting and a category change. "Shakespeare" is now "Classics" - and I think this should make it so that my "off-challenge" books that are coming in to the library now will still fit. :-)

mood has such a huge impact, doesn't it?

Absolutely! And I think one's situation / time of life also makes a big difference. If I had read The Woman in White as a teenager, when I was enchanted by the Brontes and Rebecca and other gothic romances, I might have loved it too.

I've been going strong on Shakespeare so far this month -- it's a much neglected category left over from the 888 and my first 999. I see you're reading Macbeth right now -- I'm currently reading the Histories, but I was thinking the other day that it was probably time for me to revisit Othello, Macbeth and King Lear (my 3 favorites, in that order -- I wonder if they still are...).

And I think one's situation / time of life also makes a big difference

Yes indeed! I read Once Upon a Marigold earlier this year, and kept thinking how much more I would've liked it if I was 15 years younger. Then again, there are other books that I have read and loved that I don't want to reread and burst their bubble. :-)

I was hoping to give Shakespeare a category all to himself, but I started running out of space in this challenge. One of my eventual goals is to read all of his plays, but I'm taking my time. Macbeth is a reread for me - I first read it in high school and really enjoyed it. The particular BBC dramatization I'm listening to is well done, but inexplicably abridged. I keep pausing to read my copy (which I was reading anyways to know who was talking) because it seems silly to read a shortened version of Shakespeare's shortest play and have it count. I'll probably finish it tonight.

63. The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Category: Classics

*some spoilers* though I can't imagine too many people who don't know the basics of the plot. :-)

Three witches meet Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, and greet him with tidings that he will become Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland. Macbeth can't stop thinking about it, and starts pondering regicide with his wife alongside goading him into action.

This is the first of Shakespeare's plays that I ever read, and as such it holds a special place in my memory. In high school, it was the one play I was assigned to read, and I just remember the thrill of surprise as the prophecies that Macbeth put his trust in came back to bite him. The excitement didn't disappoint on rereading, even though I knew what was going to happen. I love the theme of fate vs. free will - could Macbeth have avoided his fate? Would he have become king if he did nothing, much like Banquo's prophecy is likewise fulfilled? The arc of the characters as guilt gnaws them fascinates me. One of my absolute favorites of Shakespeare's plays. 5 stars.

ETA: I listened to the dramatized BBC version, but I read the play alongside and paused it to read the lines that were edited out, so I'm counting this as "read" rather than listened to. Would you believe there was no "Double, double, toil and trouble" - that whole sequence was skipped 'til Macbeth showed up to ask the witches what would happen to him. I really liked the actress who played Lady Macbeth, though.

64. Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett
Category: Library "new books"

In the city of Ankh-Morpork, foot-the-ball is one of the most watched and dangerous games played. Essentially without rules, more people have been killed playing than have actually scored. When Ponder Stebbins discovers that the Unseen University will lose some trust funds if they don't field a team, and Lord Vetinari brilliantly maneuvers to help them, expected Discworld hijinks ensue.

It has a mix of fantasy, satire, and slapstick that suits my weird sense of humor. Trevor, Glenda, Juliet, and Nutt are fun characters to spend time with, and I liked seeing their relationships change (with more than a nod to Romeo and Juliet thrown in for good measure) and each of them grow over the course of the book. This one stands with Lords and Ladies as one of my favorite Discworld books. 4.5 stars.

Oh, I can't wait to read it! I'm doing Discworld in order, so I'll have to wait, but I'm glad to know that it's good!

ooh, how far are you? I'm usually a stickler for order, but I've been reading this series at random and have only read 8 (including the four YA titles).

65. Chosen by Ted Dekker
Category: Author revisits

Johnis has already been overlooked for the Forest Guard, a group of soldiers fighting for their lives against the Horde, who have lately started allowing younger fighters join their ranks. Twenty-four contestants are trying to prove to their leader, Thomas Hunter, that they have what it takes to lead in the Guard, but Johnis is able to "think with his heart" and fool them all. Thomas sends him and three others who proved themselves in the contest - Darsal, Silvie, and Billos - to the desert with a task: bring back four, whole cacti by sundown. They will have to work together to do it, but seem more interested in bickering.

Readers of the Circle Trilogy may recognize Thomas Hunter's name - this is set between the first and second books in that series and, yes, involves the Books of the Histories. It's been a few years since I read Black, Red and White, so I had a little trouble fitting it into what I remembered of the chronology. Though fast-paced, I thought the writing and character development left much to be desired. In writing for teens, he seemed to resort to telling, and rather repetitively at that, instead of letting the reader piece things together or describing a change in a character's thinking in a way that didn't beat you over the head with it. I might read the second book but have yet to be convinced that I need to read the whole series. 3.5 stars.

66. Powers by John Olson
Category: From my "To Read" Collection
Read for LibraryThing Early Reviewers

Mariutza has lived in the bayous of Louisiana all her life. As one of the Standing, she can't go in buildings. Ever. Her grandfather, Purodad, has always taken care of her. But when the Badness comes, he dies trying to fight and Mariutza has to go into New Orleans in search of Jaazaniah the Prophet.

The sequel to Shade starts off with a bang, but I wasn't as invested in the story for a little while because I already knew (or thought I did, anyway) what was chasing Mari and Jazz. Both books are Christian suspense with a supernatural element that I would easily recommend to fans of Ted Dekker or Frank Peretti. The characters are interesting, but sketched briefly and without giving me a lot of insight into them, instead favoring a driving plot that kept me up late at night reading. I was a little confused about his mythology related to the Badness and the Standing, as Mari apparently has a slightly different belief system from Melchi's. I'm not sure if the author hasn't fully developed his ideas or if he's going to bring it all together somehow, but I will be on the lookout for further novels to see if he does so. 4 stars.

I finished Soul Music a few months ago. Interesting Times is up next. I love the DEATH books, so Soul Music was fun.

I haven't read any of that mini-series, but it sounds fun. The first non-YA Discworld book I read was Lords and Ladies, and I just loved the plays on Midsummer Night's Dream. I do kind of want to go back and start from the beginning. I even own Color of Magic so I have no excuse at all.

Lords and Ladies was one of my favorites too, but I loved Wyrd Sisters even more. We got the DVD of The Color of Magic and now my 12 year old is a Discworld fan. He listened to the audio of it as well and of Eric.

well, that's another 30+ books to put on my TBR pile, and some DVDs to boot. I think I will try to start from the beginning and go through the stories in order again. Couldn't help myself when I saw Unseen Academicals on the new books shelf, though. :-)

67. Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
Category: Grab Bag

Billie Jo tells her story of growing up in the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression in narrative poetry. A terrible accident leaves Billie Jo motherless, and she and her father have to cope with guilt and financial difficulties over the years of 1934 and 1935. This historical fiction gives some glimpses of the outside world, referencing Billy Jo's hero President Franklin, for example, but does not overwhelm the story with research details. This is Billie Jo's story, a microcosm of one family, one girl during the Depression. The "novel in verse" style is very appropriate for the more internal, personal focus, ending not with financial success or the beginning of World War 2, but with Billie's own progression as a character as she forgives her father and herself for her mother's death.

Poetry in audio is tough, and this is probably the main reason for my relatively low rating of the book. The narrator, Marika Mashburn, did a fine job of narrating a fifteen-year-old girls thoughts. Though the poetry worked for internalizing the story, however, it masked the time progression. Events that may have been months apart were only a few minutes apart in the telling. I would have been lulled by the more introspective poems and suddenly find something happening externally, which was a little disconcerting. Because not a lot happens outside of Billie Jo's own thoughts and emotions, I would have a tough time successfully recommending this to young teen readers except when the Newbery assignment comes along and I can tell them how short it is. On the other hand, I think this would be a great novel to recommend to adults who wouldn't be put off by the "YA" label. 3 stars.

68. A Truth Universally Acknowledged: 33 Great Writers on Why We Read Jane Austen edited by Susannah Carson
Category: Nonfiction (Category completed 11/27/09)

A diverse selection of essays that covers everything Jane from Northanger Abbey to Persuasion. You may wonder, as I did, how some essays fit in - such as the college professor writing about his course in the '70s, and the researcher who made his way to a great-niece to inspect the manuscript "Volume 2" of her early writings. But if nothing else, this diversity gives the reader a sense of the breadth of readers and writers who love Jane Austen and the variety of reasons why she is still beloved today.

The writers included range from familiar names such as C.S. Lewis and Virginia Woolf, to perhaps less known such as Lionel Trilling (who has two essays) or Amy Heckerling. Some essays are broad in scope, while others focus very specifically on one novel. One aspect of the selection that I appreciated was the inclusion of essays that referenced each other, one which quoted Virginia Woolf in making a point, for example, and another that directly quoted and disagreed with another. Readers of only some of Jane Austen's works should beware that reading this cover to cover will give spoilers for all of her novels and Villette to boot. But for readers who can't get enough Jane, this is an excellent collection of literary criticism that doesn't get too heavily academic for the non-English major. 4 stars.

69. Vera by Elizabeth von Arnim
Category: Author Revisits (category completed 11/30/09)

The day young Lucy Entwhistle's father died, she was only able to stand, staring, feeling nothing. Along came Wemyss, a man of about forty-five, who had just lost his wife. This shared bereavement brings he and Lucy together: Wemyss makes all the plans for Mr. Entwhistle's funeral, they spend much time together comforting each other, and they soon become engaged. Lucy's aunt, Mrs. Entwhistle, is rather perplexed by the whole turn of affairs, but she determines to like Wemyss for Lucy's sake, even though he shows all the character of a spoiled brat.

Vera was Wemyss's former wife, who died under somewhat mysterious circumstances, yet whose memory permeates much. At first, I thought the story was going to be headed in a similar direction as Rebecca, but even though I didn't particularly like Max de Winter, he had nothing on Wemyss. Everard Wemyss has made my top five list of most hated characters in literature. His behavior made me want to slap him, shake him, finally to punch him. I loved Miss Entwhistle's standing up to him, and wished Lucy was more able to assert herself. But like many in an unhealthy relationship, she's quick to forgive and forget. Reading about them as they progressed from engagement into marriage was like watching a car crash - you know it's going to be terrible, but can't help continuing. 4 stars.

70. The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima
Category: Library new books (category completed 12/3/09)

Han, former streetlord, spends much time with the clans of the mountains, and his friends Dancer and Bird. He and Dancer encounter wizard boys on the mountain, which is forbidden, and he takes a strange amulet from the leader, Micah Bayar, son of the High Wizard.

Princess Raissa chafes under expectations. Do this, don't do this. Learn manners but not diplomacy. Marry for political reasons. She will one day be queen, but knows little of the true state of the queendom.

Moving effortlessly between both characters points of view, Cinda Williams Chima creates a complex world completely independent of The Warrior Heir series. The Seven Realms are governed by the Naeming, an ancient agreement that brought peace and a separation of power, particularly between the clans and the wizards. This place is rich with its own history and legends, and full of well-realized secondary characters. The few awkward phrases were a little jarring because the writing is generally so self-assuredly smooth. I stayed up late finishing this one, and can't wait for the next in the series. 4.5 stars.

I always enjoy your reviews, bell7, even when I know I don't want to read the books.

Thank you, Bonnie. :-)
How is your "best of our best" going for you? I haven't commented much, but I have been reading your thread with interest.

I've been so much more satisfied with the books I'm reading since selecting from everybody's "Ten Bests..." that I'm going to organize my 2010 reading around it. Thanks for reminding me--I need to solicit more lists this month so that I'll be all ready for the new year!

I look forward to following your reading then, and I promise to update my top 10 right after the New Year. (Gotta wait for those last-minute December reads.) I'm reading Cutting for Stone now because of all the praise I've seen on LT. I haven't gotten very far yet (p. 14), but I think it's going to be good.

71. One False Note by Gordon Korman
Category: Children's/YA (yes, I finagled my categories again to get this to count)

Amy and Dan Cahill continue their quest for the 39 clues, now on their way to Vienna in search of Mozart's clue. Once again, their cousins are in the hunt and after Amy and Dan. Brother and sister will have to have to use all their ingenuity to outwit their family in the hunt for the next clue.

This book made very clear to me that I am not the audience for this book. It's not my genre (over-the-top adventure) nor is it written for my age group. While I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to a child in elementary school that was looking for a fast-paced or short read, as an adult I found it impossible to buy the premise of the books and get over the fact that Amy and Dan are on the run from social services with their au pair in Europe. 3 stars.

They aren't written for us. I'll have to agree with that. Imagine how less rich our childhoods would have been without books in which the characters did not behave the way we grown-ups would have them behave. I'm reading some of the books my daughter is now reading, with much the same reaction.

I'm getting caught up here and am so glad I did because it brought The Paris Review Interviews I to my attention! Loved your review and can't wait to get a copy in hand.

>118 RidgewayGirl: RidgewayGirl - oh absolutely! And I'm sure I read books that I loved how the kids were free to do whatever they wanted, but in a situation that an adult would find completely unbelievable (Pippi Longstocking perhaps?). I'm glad I've read (well, listenened to) the first two to have an idea about the series, to be able to talk to kids that come into the library and have read it or might want to read it, making me better able to recommend books if need be.

> 119 thanks detailmuse! I look forward to reading your reaction. I can't wait to get my hands on the next volume (next year, though - I'm filling up my "Grab Bag" 1010 category as we speak!).

>120 bell7: I love it that you want

to talk to kids that come into the library and have read it or might want to read it, making me better able to recommend books if need be.

The other day I was thinking about the children's library of my childhood, and wondering why the librarians (all except one, who did talk to me and make recommendations) hadn't made more suggestions to me. It suddenly occurred to me (lightbulb! 50 years later) that by the time I was 10, I had almost certainly read more of the books in their library than they had.

>121 ivyd: ivyd, I think talking about books is the best part of my job! I work in reference, but I would absolutely love to have reader's advisory questions all day. Though in all honesty, sometimes I'm sure a given reader has read more than me, at least of the genre(s) or topic(s) that interest him/her. I try my best to keep up with popular titles and to read outside of my favorite genres regularly, but there's just so much available now that it's absolutely impossible to read it all. But I have to say, I really can't complain when I can chalk up just about any read to professional development. ;-)

72. First Lord's Fury by Jim Butcher
Category: Fantasy (category complete 12/14/09)

This is the sixth in the Codex Alera series, so this review necessarily has ***spoilers*** for the preceding five titles.

Gaius Sextus is dead, killed in a final act of defiance against the vord Queen at the battle for Alera Imperia. The Citizens and refugees of Alera are banding together to make a final stand. Octavian is on his way home. The final battle for all of Alera is about to begin.

Jim Butcher is a master of pace. This book is the climax of the entire series, building tension until the last sixty pages are a perfectly placed hold-your-breath conclusion to the series. You almost don't realize in the midst of it that such themes as sacrifice and love and the fact that some things are worth killing -- and dying -- for are finely struck. A fitting conclusion to a wonderful addition to the epic fantasy genre. 4.5 stars.

73. The Wives of Henry Oades by Johanna Moran
Category: From my "To Read" collection

In 1890, Henry Oades sets sail from England with his wife Margaret and their young family to New Zealand. His post should only last a few years, and they will return home. But tragedy strikes: Maori Indians set fire to his homestead, killing Margaret's friend Mim, and abducting his wife and children. Henry believes them to be dead. He mourns them deeply, but leaves for America and the start of a new life.

Based on a true story of a man brought up on charges of bigamy (I'm giving no spoilers beyond the title, mind), the basis of the book intrigues me. Especially in a time when divorce and illegitimacy carried much more of a stigma than perhaps today, what would a decent man do if, remarried after believing his first wife dead, she and his children turn up on his doorstep? I felt compassion for all involved, especially since the third-person narration is primarily conveyed through the point of view of the Mrs. Oades, Margaret and Nancy. I did sometimes wish that the family dynamics were explored more completely, perhaps telling me more about the first three weeks after Margaret shows up or fleshing out aspects of their relationship that seemed rather quickly and neatly summarized. That and the lack of details about New Zealand or California at the turn of the century made me wonder if even at 347 pages the book was a little too short. Still, Johanna Moran exhibits quite a bit of talent in her debut, particularly in making her characters feel like real people and drawing a reader's sympathy for each of them. 4 stars.

>124 bell7: The Wives of Henry Oades: This sounds really good! Thanks for the review.

>122 bell7: it's absolutely impossible to read it all

Sometimes it's a bit depressing to think that, even for people who read a lot, there are just far too many books to even make a dent in what's available. But what I like is your attitude -- caring about being helpful to your patrons. In a small-town library in the 1950s, the children's librarians were (except for the head librarian who talked to me) part-time employees, housewives who had no expertise or special education, and they were probably a bit resentful that they needed to work at a time that most wives stayed at home if they could. Not that they were unkind (that came later in the adult library, when the librarians tried to censor my reading), but they just didn't know a whole lot and didn't much care.

>125 ivyd: ivy, I'm glad the head librarian took an interest, it's too bad (for you and them) that the children's librarians weren't too keen on talking about or sharing books. The staff at my hometown library is great and largely responsible for my initial interest in working there (alongside my love of reading). I can't say I love it every day, but I do love it in general, and purposely chose a career I knew I would.

ETA: hope you enjoy The Wives of Henry Oades if/when you read it!

74. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Category: From my "To Read" Collection (Category complete 12/21/09)

Somewhere alongside a river lives a Water Rat and a Mole, two friends who take pleasure in the simple things, like taking a ride in Ratty's boat and having a picnic. Their friends Toad, Otter and Badger, living near the river and in the Wide Wood, join them in various adventures throughout the seasons.

Somehow, when I was young and reading The Chronicles Narnia and all the Thornton W. Burgess tales, I missed this children's classic featuring Mole and the Water Rat, pompous old Toad and the sturdy Badger. I especially loved Toad, his faddish delights and mood swings from deepest despair to puffed up self-display. This was a truly charming read, by turns familiar (due to a movie I saw as a child) and new. The episodic chapters and long, meandering sentences lend themselves to a read-aloud, and I look forward to someday sharing this story with a young child. 4.5 stars.

I love Wind in the Willows too. I didn't read it as a child, but got to read it to my boys. I loved their giggles--and Mr. Toad was all our favorite.

Sharing stories is so much fun, isn't it? I remember my mom reading us all Lassie Come-Home when I was a kid, and begging her for "just one more chapter..." I'm definitely saving up Wind in the Willows to be one of those stories with my (at the moment imaginary) children someday.

Chuckle! There are some days that you wish your children could be "at the moment imaginary."

75. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Category: Rereads

**some spoilers** if by some amazing reason you've never read nor seen a movie based on this before. :-)

The classic tale of Christmas - and one I've read every year since 2006 or perhaps earlier. I keep telling myself, "Maybe this will be the last read for awhile. Maybe I'll try something new next year." The Cricket on the Hearth, maybe, or a reread of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Or maybe something completely different that I've never read before. But every year I pick it up again with something like anticipation, saving it for a day I know I can read it all at once. And every time I get to the end I'm grinning along with Scrooge as he dances around his rooms planning how to surprise the Cratchits. I can't help myself. 5 stars.

76. A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
Category: Classics (category completed 12/26/09)

Lucy Honeychurch is visiting Italy with her cousin, Charlotte, who as an older single female has come along as a chaperone. While on the trip, she meets an "original" older woman, Miss Lavish, who is writing a novel; the stuck-up clergyman Mr. Eager; and the Emersons, a father and son duo whose forthrightness and political leanings rather shock some of the more orthodox crowd. Her time in Italy affects Lucy greatly: she sees a man murdered and experiences her first kiss. Upon returning home, she must decide between living up to the expectations of tradition, as embodied by her cousin Charlotte, or following the desires of her heart.

Perhaps it's because I read A Passage to India as an English major, or maybe it's the many layers to E.M. Forster's classic story that made me feel, when reading it, that I could write a paper about his use of inside and outside, of old and new. Class distinctions are still important, particularly to the older characters and city dwellers, while less so to the younger and country folk. Lucy's fiance says at one point that Lucy pictures him inside a room, which seems connected with his repression of her spirit and independent thought, hugely in contrast with George Emerson and Frank Honeychurch's behavior outdoors in the Sacred Lake. The layering of metaphors and brilliant characterizations made this a real pleasure to read, and I would not hesitate to read it again knowing that I would get just as much - if not more - out of it with multiple readings. At the same time, the story is accessible and compelling, a classic that is neither long nor slow reading. Highly recommended. 4.5 stars.

77. One and the Same: My Life as an Identical Twin and What I've Learned About Everyone's Struggle to be Singular by Abigail Pogrebin
Category: Library "new books" shelf (category complete 12/28/09 - I know, I did some shifting so this is the second time I've marked it complete)

When Abigail Pogrebin's editors asked her what she wanted to write about next, she answered, "Twins." The journey from that response to this book, which she recounts in the introduction, wasn't an easy one. She interviews many twins, from football stars Tiki and Ronde Barber to acquaintances of her own, as well as psychologists and doctors specializing in twin studies, presenting a broad spectrum of the relationships between adult twins, from very close to almost nonexistent. Throughout it all, Abigail's relationship with her own identical twin, Robin, informs her understanding of these interviews, but at the same time seems to come to a better understanding of her relationship because of her investigation.

What is it about twins that fascinate? I used to wish I was a twin myself, imagining a perfect playing partner who would have more in common with me than a mere sibling. Pogrebin investigates a wide range of topics related to twins, from the idealized relationship to the struggle for individuality to medical studies (which I found a fascinating and informative regarding the nature/nurture discussion) of identical twins with different medical issues. What fascinated me the most - the world of being a twin - was also the most frustrating in reading. As a twin herself, the author refers to "the Twin Thing" and makes much of the special relationship that twins have. I've known many twins, either together or separately, but having not been a twin myself or having a set of twins in my immediately family, I felt rather thrown into the world of twins in the early part of the book, and it was only in the latter chapters that I felt I had gained my footing. Do I fully get what it's like to be a twin? No, but I certainly better appreciate the unique struggles and joys of being "one and the same." 4.5 stars.

78. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

I've reread this so many times and there are so many reviews of it already that I've just written down some of my thoughts:

This is the sixth time I've read this book, but only the second since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out. Upon continued rereads, a couple of things stand out to me. First, it's an incredibly long time before he actually gets to the school. I don't remember feeling frustrated about this the first time I read it - on the contrary, I found it extremely fast paced and had trouble putting it down to go to bed. Alright, I put it down, went to bed, and got up to finish it. I'll admit it. But now that I know how the story goes...it's a very long time before he even gets to Hogwarts. Secondly, I noticed a lot of groundwork laid for the remainder of the series, details that don't turn up again until the 3rd book and beyond. Actually, I'm pretty impressed with how much information Ms. Rowling includes that ends up reappearing. I found that the most rewarding part of rereading the story even though I'm extremely familiar with it - I can finally see how all the details come together in the series as a whole.

>78 bell7: I've read (or maybe seen in an interview) that J.K. Rowling had outlined all 7 books before she wrote the first one. It's interesting that you can see that in re-reading them. I love the series, but haven't re-read any of them -- I have watched the movies several times, but don't recall any foreshadowing in them. Of course, it may not be there -- even when the movies were made, she was the only one who knew what was coming. I'll probably re-read the series at some point, but at the moment I seem to have more books planned for 2010 than I can possibly get to.

79. Invisible I by Melissa Kantor
Category: Grab Bag (category finished 12/31/09)

Callie's friend Amanda suddenly disappears - and the Vice Principal seems to think that she had something to do with it! She and Hal Bennett and Nia Rivera, whom he accuses of withholding information. They have detention until they 'fess up. The only problem is: they don't know what happened to Amanda either. Now in a race against time and dealing with her own personal problems, Callie, along with Hal and Nia must find their missing friend and unravel the clues she's left behind.

This first in a planned series of eight books is fast-paced and engaging, though it sometimes took a long while for the characters to confirm what I already knew - namely, that they have to find Amanda. I actually liked Callie, though her popular friends the "I-Girls" fell into the stereotypical "mean girl" category and didn't have the same development Callie did. The main reason I didn't rate this higher is because of the melodramatic tone of the writing, which I found distracting. Case in point (from page 224, though it doesn't give anything away in terms of plot): "As I rode my bike along the perfectly paved roads of The Acres, I got an inkling of what my mother had felt, as if the sprinklers dousing the emerald green lawns were spraying out not water but blood." I'm sorry, but what? You're biking through the rich neighborhood saying your mother hated the sameness of it and that's the image that comes to mind? Next sentence: "Heidi had paid a price for living her parents' dream in somewhere as protected and perfect as The Acres, and that price was nothing less than her very soul." I get what she was saying, I just found it a bit much. There's a related website which I can see being a pull to older fans of The 39 Clues. I tried one of the quizzes "What's You're Totem?" (Amanda gave Callie, Hal, and Nia all a totem animal), and it was a really fun result, not just specifying that I was an intellectual, but listing "Hermione Granger" as "you, but famous," a dictionary as "you, but a book," and a lot more. 4 stars.

80. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Category: Reread

This book has felt like an old friend every time I've read it since the very first time a dozen years ago. The hilarious characterizations, especially of Mrs. Bennett, and witty repartee of Eliza and Mr. Darcy, not to mention the narrator, delights me every time. This audio version, read by Kate Redding, was no exception. If anything, I forgot how forthright and funny the narrator could be (or perhaps as I get older I just understand the language better). One of my all-time favorites.

Regarding my progress on the 999 x 2 - I'm currently rereading Ex Libris, a collection of essays about reading. If I finish it by midnight tonight, I'm considering the challenge completed on time, so here goes nothing.

81. Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman
Category: Reread

Whew! I did it. Right now I'm kind of tired and getting ready to go off on vacation. But I'll come back and add my thoughts & favorites from the year when I get back.

Yeah, Mary! Congrats! And what great books to end with too! About the One and the Same book and its author, I didn't even know that Abigail Posner was an author. I still just think of her as the daughter of an author. Shows my age, huh? Anyway, I had two good friends through high school who were also my next door neighbors and I used to blithely say (terrible things now that I come to think of it) "It doesn't matter which one of you I hang out with, you're both same to me!" so that title really resonated with me. But even then I knew that wasn't true. For some reason I thought I had to say that so they wouldn't think I liked one more than the other. I'll probably have more things to be embarrassed about after I read it, but I'm going to add it to my wish list anyway. I would say it's the final one going on in 2009, but it's only 8:30 here, so have a few more hours to catch up on all my starred threads and add more. :-) Happy New Year!

>138 bell7: Congratulations!!

I just stopped by to tell you I'm starting 2010 with a recommendation from you -- The Paris Review Interviews I -- and loving it. I also ordered Maus I and II from your previous 999. Needless to say I'm looking forward to your 2010 reading :)

Have a great vacation!

Nice job! and Happy New Year!

>139 bonniebooks:, Thanks for the congrats, Bonnie! I believe that the other of One and the Same also wrote another nonfiction book, but I don't know the title nor do I remember the subject. Hope you enjoy the read - I almost felt like I was being introduced to a different culture, so don't let yourself get too down about any faux pas. I know a set of twins that are in sixth grade and I can't tell them apart for the life of me (my sister can and always asks me, "How can you not?" with all the incredulity a nearly-twelve-year-old can muster).

>140 detailmuse: - thanks detailmuse! I hope you enjoy The Paris Review Interviews to the end.

>141 cmbohn: cmbohn, Thank you and a happy New Year to you too!

I'm late to the party, but I still wanted to send you congratulations on finishing!

BEST BOOKS 2009 (category noted in parentheses):

1. Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis* (Classics, 999x2)
2. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta* (Award Winners, 999)
3. Labor Day by Joyce Maynard* (New Library Books, 999x2)
4. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout* (Grab Bag, 999x2)
5. Paris Review Interviews, I edited by Philip Gourevitch* (Nonfiction, 999x2)
6. Maus by Art Spiegelman (Graphic Novels, 999)
7. Octavian Nothing by M.T. Anderson (Award Winners, 999)
8. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (Recommendations, 999)
9. The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim (Grab Bag, 999x2)
10. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (Grab Bag, 999x2)
12. The Pleasure of Reading edited by Antonia Fraser (Books About Books, 999)
13. Housekeeping vs. The Dirt by Nick Hornby (Books About Books, 999)
14. The Help by Kathryn Stockett (New-to-me Authors, 999)
15. A Room with a View by E.M. Forster (Classics, 999x2)
16. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson (YA/Children's, 999x2)
17. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (New-to-me authors, 999)

My top five reads of the year were surprisingly easy for me to whittle down. Getting a top ten was well nigh impossible because there was a much larger group of books (as you can see, because I made my list as long as I wanted) vying for those last few spots.

I'm actually pretty impressed with the balance of timing - there are books represented from early, middle, and end of the year, so it wasn't just the last book I'd read that made an impression or the books that I kept hearkening back to because nothing read since could measure up.

On the other hand, I am surprised that books that I immediately gave 5 stars to upon finishing aren't showing up while books that I gave less to were the ones that really stood out to me at the end of the year - particularly The Help and Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet were books that kind of grew on me over the year. So perhaps it's more accurate to call these the "standouts" of the year - some of them were instant favorites and some of them were not, but they're all books I'll look back on fondly when I think back to my 2009 reading year.

Happy reading in 2010! Hope to see you all over in my 1010 Challenge and 75 Books Challenge threads.

Thanks, Victoria! Late is fine. :-) I'm late posting favorites and such because I finished up at the last minute and then went away on a trip.... so no sweat! Looking forward to seeing your reading in 2010!