Friday Salon?

(The books that you will be hearing about in the next several weeks)

I was going to begin doing The Sunday Salon, but on Sunday I won't be around. Plus, nothing will change since I do not plan on reading this weekend.

So here is my first unofficial Sunday Salon Post!

I started A Tree Grows in Brooklyn a few days ago and I am enjoying it immensely. I have a good feeling that this will become one of my favorite books. I've already read the portion that I need to for Rory's Book Club (http://www.rorysbookclub.proboards55.com/index.cgi) but I am still reading it. I could incorporate it into my senior project if I wanted to, but I am not. This is my only planned pleasure reading this month.

I've also just begun The Devil Wears Prada for my project. I can already see the difference between the book and the movie...oops. I watched the movie before even knowing there was a book version of it!

I've come across two short story anthologies that may prove useful for my senior project, This is Chick Lit and This is Not Chick Lit. After I get back from my little weekend getaway, I will start either one.

But, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn totally has me hooked. I should be reading for school, but I am loving this!

Off the Record

(Synopsis from bn.com) "Jane Marlow is a true-blue good girl: plain, predictable, and perfectly responsible. But when her brother catches an episode of Music One's "Off the Record," he discovers that former pop sensation Teddy Rock is actually their childhood neighbor Theodore Brockford, and that his one-hit wonder twelve years earlier wasn't just a catchy tune that took the charts by storm-it was a song about Jane Marlow! Now Jane has a chance to live life off the record, but is she ready for the changes it brings? And even if she's willing to take the risk, is she willing to face the music?"

Off the Record started out a bit slow for me, but once it picked up it turned out to be an enjoyable read. It really takes the angle of "Who Am I?" in the end. It has only a small amount of romance in it, compared to other chick lit.

The who am I dilemma makes the book a little too sugary and preachy. The song that Jane Marlow is in talks about her like she is some sort of sex goddess. Jane tries to fit into that image, but realizes it's not her.

That's basically the book. If you have nothing better to do (which you probably do) it's a cute read.

Grade: C

Booking Through Thurday: The Best

"It’s a week or two later than you’d expect, and it may be almost a trite question, but … what were your favorite books from 2008?"

I didn't read many books published in 2008, but the few that I did made an impression on me. These three books are the best of 08 and are on the top of my entire reading for the year!

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini:

I didn't think this was published in 2008, but Barnes and Noble says it was. I loved both the Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. I read both without putting them down, quite literally. I read during classes and when I didn't have to sleep or eat. Hosseini's books taught me to read something new and interesting. I probably wouldn't have liked A Thousand Splendid Suns if I had read it earlier, but these books have changed how I pick out books.

The Kite Runner was difficult to read because of some content matter, A Thousand Splendid Suns even more so. I still found it to be a great book despite some scenes that were a little too graphic.

Scheisshaus Luck by Pierre Berg:

I'd just be repeating myself over again if I talked about it now. The review I posted is short and sweet. Find it here: http://bookwormsarah.blogspot.com/2008/10/schiesshaus-luck-by-pierre-berg.html

It's better than Night, The Diary of Anne Frank, and all of the other Holocaust literature I have read! I love the cool angle on the story. This memoir definitely earned its spot on my list!

In the Land of Invisible Women by Qanta Ahmed:

I talked about this book so much that my mom went and bought it and read it. She didn't like it as much as I did, but this menoir offered a glimpse into a society I have not read much about. It's not something you can just read. ou have to digest it. There is so much to learn about in this book it's almost insane!

My review is found here: http://bookwormsarah.blogspot.com/2008/11/in-land-of-invisible-women.html

My Antonia

by Willa Cather

My Antonia is the story of Antonia, an immigrant girl, through the eyes of her neighbor, Jim. Like many of Cather's works, it is set in Nebraska. Cather loves Nebraska and lets that show through her writing. Jim and Antonia never had a romantic relationship, but something is unique about their relationship. My Antonia deals with the struggles of immigrants, farmers, and of women all at once.

Cather does a wondeful job describing how difficult life was for these groups of people. Not only by telling their stories, but taking time to explain the general situation.

The book takes on a carefree, but serious attitude as much of the story is told through the eyes of a child. My Antonia follows Antonia and Jim from ten years old to about sixty. Most of the book takes place before Jim goes off to college.

I read O Pioneers! by Willa Cather about a year ago and I really enjoyed it. O Pioneers and My Antonia are like Little House on the Prarie, with more depth. For those who loved Little House on the Prarie, but have moved on to "Big people" books, Cather is a wonderful place to start.

Although I enjoyed O Pioneers! more than My Antonia, it was still an enjoyable read.

Grade: B

Bethany (http://exlibrisbb.blogspot.com/2009/01/my-antonia.html) REALLY enjoyed My Antonia. Check out her review!

Library Loot

Eva (http://astripedarmchair.wordpress.com/) had a really good idea, similar to Mailbox Monday. I don't get any books in my mailbox unless I win a giveaway, which has only happened once, so I feel left out.

I get all of my books from the library unless I need them for school. I wanted to ask Eva if I could steal her awesome idea off of her, but now I don't have to. She is opening this event up to all of you!

I'll post every week what books I have out of the library at the moment. I stop at the library several times a week, so it changes frequently. This post is not just to document what I got each week.

The Journals of Sylvia Plath: I read 200 pages of it for school then stopped. It's on its way back home now.

I Don't Know How She Does it by Allison Pearson: This has been out a while. I'm reading it for my chick lit project.

Off the Record by Jennifer O'Connell: Another chick lit for school, I'm halfway done.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith: This month's selection for Rory's Book Club (http://www.rorysbookclub.proboards55.com/index.cgi) and it happened to be what classic I was going to read this month. Super!

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger: Another chick lit. Haven't started this one either!

And I'm about to go pick up:

The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants by Ann Brashares: To re-read

The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares: To read so I can watch the movie.

This is Not Chick Lit: For the project

Blog Improvement Project Week 1: Setting Goals

I started out this blog a few months ago just to post my impressions of books I read so I could go back and remember. I have read many books in my time on the Earth, but I only remember the really good ones. I wanted to remember all of the books!

I still don't remember all of the books I have blogged about, but I have learned that writing (or typing) things makes it easier to remember. I still forget things, and every so often I look back at a few past posts to read past reviews and reflect on my reading progress.

In the few months I have been blogging, I think my posts have changed quite a bit. Maybe you have noticed that the past few books I have posted about have been a little bit different. I think they are better! I am actually proud of those posts.

What I didn't expect to come from this blog was a whole community of book bloggers. I didn't even know it had existed! Until Ronnica from the Book Nook Club found me in a search and posted on my blog, I didn't know. I'm glad she did because if she hadn't my blog would be very different.

With the unexpected things, I have some new goals. Every time the number of followers I have changes, I get excited. To many of you, the number I have is pitiful, but I'm happy to know that even those few still read my blog regularly. I'm still at the point that I am excited to get comments.

My goals for this year:

1. Write better reviews, not only for me to remember, but for readers to enjoy. I will focus more on why or why not you should read the book.
2. Do anything I am able to get more people reading my blog. I blogged for selfish reasons in the beginning, but now it is not just about me. I want the blog to be more than just about me. I look at book blogs where people have whole discussions through comments. I want my blog to be like that.
3. Make my posts nice-looking. I can't get someone to make the blog as a whole look pretty, but I can make every effort I can to make each post look nice. I don't post enough pictures. I've noticed that if something is broken up with pictures, I'm more likely to read it.
4. I want to find something I can do to contribute to the book blogging community. Maybe I will host a challenge next year, maybe I can donate money or books to someone else's giveaway or event. Who knows!

To Kindle or not to Kindle?

My mom wants one of these.

You can dowload books cheaply onto it (but the device is really expensive). Not to mention it does a whole bunch of other things, but the main function is to read books.

Oprah has one.

Now, I know that wasn't exactly relevant, but you know what happens when Oprah likes something. Everyone rushes out to buy one.

I think the Kindle is a bit odd. I don't want one. I've tried to read books off of a computer screen and it wasn't fun. My dad's words are right. There's just something about turning a page. I like seeing how much I have progressed on reading a book.

If you download books onto the Kindle, you only have them in that format. Your bookshelf books will become lonely. Just as turning the page is satisfying, so is seeing all the books on your bookshelf.

You can't carry around a book in your purse, or like me, on top of a stack of schoolbooks through the hall. No one will see your book and comment on it, leading to some interesting conversation. The conversation will be about the technology of the Kindle. Kindle sharing will be like having a friend say "Let me see your phone" so they can see what features you have that they don't.

The one cool thing about the Kindle is that you can download a book from anywhere. If you are bored sitting in an airport, download something on your TBR list!

But still, I'd rather pack too many books in my carry-on!

What do you think about the whole Kindle thing?

Lock and Key

Synopsis from bn.com "After her mother abandons her, Ruby Cooper is flying below the radar of officialdom and trying to make it to her 18th birthday, when she’s busted by the landlord and turned over to social services. Ruby gets taken in by her estranged sister, Cora, who left for college a decade earlier and never looked back, and Cora’s husband, Jamie, the wealthy founder of a ubiquitous social networking site. Resentful, suspicious and vulnerable, she resists mightily, refusing the risky business of depending on anybody but herself, and wearing the key to her old house around her neck."

I've read several other of Dessen's novels in tha past and I was really impressed how it's very chick-lity but still has touches of reality. Ruby's circumstances aren't perfect. Everything doesn't end up perfect.

Although I read this book for a feminist paper, I couldn't find anything in it to use in the paper. Maybe it's because I devoured the book, never stopping to analyze it. The new girl in school circumstances and how she meets Nate, the boy next door reminded me of Twilight. The combination of quirky yet touching characters like Harriet and Reggie reminded me of Rachel Cohn's Gingerbread series.

I used to wear a key on a necklace around my neck. The key meant a lot to me. It didn't open anything. It was later joined by a puzzle piece charm. I wore the necklace every day as a reminder of something so special to me. I lost that necklace this June and never found it. Ruby's necklace made me want my necklace so much that I got another key charm and made a necklace out of it. The original key was so special to me, but it still means the same thing.

Sure, most of my impressions of the book was based on my key necklace story. But even if you never wore a key on your neck, this is a nice change from the usual teen fiction book.

Grade: B

2008 Final Booklist

I will be removing 2008's books read from my sidebar to make room for 2009.

Some information may be inaccurate in my December and 2008 final posts because of all of my computer storage issues. This is the most accurate list. My total for this year is 66.


Dewey
Bridget Jones’s Diary
Twilight
As I Have Loved You
The Father Christmas Letters
The Last lecture
The Book That Changed My Life
Pomegranate Soup
A Christmas Carol
Dating daVinci
Hamlet
The Christmas Candle
Memoirs of a Giesha
In The Land of Invisible Women
Dream Factory
Girl, 13
The Nanny Diaries
Girl Overboard
Pardon My French
Schiesshaus Luck
The Uncommon Reader
Bloomability
Through the Looking Glass
The Old Man and the Sea
Alice in Wonderland
Of Mice and Men
Howl and Other Poems
Westminster Abby
The Book Thief
Franny and Zooey
The Know-it-All
East of Eden
Atonement
Under the Overpass
The Year of Living Biblically
The Kitchen god’s Wife
Life of Pi
Crime and Punishment
A Million Little Pieces
Othello
So Super Starry
Getting the Boot
Cupcake
The Poisonwood Bible
The Prayer of Jabez
Digital Fortress
Angels and Demons
Who Moved My Cheese?
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Rahab’s Story
The DaVinci Cod: A Fishy Parody
The Pearl
The Crucible
The Case for a Creator: Student Edition
Ethan Frome
The Secret Garden
Praise Habit: Finding God in Sunsets and Sushi
It’s Not About Me
O Pioneers!
The Great Gatsby
The Kite Runner
Kids are Americans Too
Uncensored
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Booking Through Thursday: Resolutions

"So … any Reading Resolutions? Say, specific books you plan to read? A plan to read more ____? Anything at all?
Name me at least ONE thing you’re looking forward to reading this year!"

How's this for my first post of the new year? I've already posted my resolutions for the year, so I am focusing on the question about what I am looking forward to reading in the next year.

-Finishing the Twilight series. To my surprise I actually enjoyed the first book. As I anxiously await the other books coming in from the library (just like some people waited for the books to be released), I still need to have a lot of other reading, considering I'll get a new Twilight book every other month or so.

-Wuthering Heights: This is required reading for my English class. I do not know when we will be reading it, but I'm looking forward to it.

-The Graveyard Book: I feel like the only person that hasn't read this yet! I need to get on it!

-The Grapes of Wrath: I'm definitely getting around to reading this as a part of my personal classics challenge. East of Eden and The Pearl are two of my favorite books, so I have high expectations for The Grapes of Wrath.

-A Tree Grows in Brooklyn: I'm reading this book this month. I hope I can get around to reading one book for pleasure since I'm reading tons of books for a school project!

-The Lovely Bones: My mom and I just bought this. It's been on my TBR list for a while and I'm anxiously waiting for the day when I don't have six other books to read for school.

-The Little Prince: I have to read this. I'm going to minor in French. All but one of the challenges I am in can use this title. I need to read it!

-Anne of Green Gables: This is a reread, and I hope watching the movie will accompany it. I do stay away from book movies, but I love this movie version!

-Finishing the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants series: I've only read the first book and watched the first movie. I really should get around to finishing this cute series.

I tried to stay away from listing all the books I should read this year. These are the books that are very highly prioritized. I have a longer list of books I'd like to read this year, but I know I won't be able to. I'd only get around to it if I only read the books on the list. I wouldn't be able to read a review about a really good book just released and order it from the library. I need that spontaniety to keep me sane and keep this reading habit of mine fun!

There are a few others on my list that are must reads for me. I want to keep those a secret for a while, since I have a feeling they are going to be special books. Those reviews will be something you won't want to miss out on!