Oct - Dec 2005

October 2005
Because of Winn-Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo
A sweet story about a lonely girl in a new town, who befriends a dog she finds in the grocery store. The dog helps her become closer to her father, as well as get to know people she never would have talked to otherwise.

The Edible Woman, by Margaret Atwood
It's just like the title - some crazy woman turns into food. Or at least she thinks so. Someone was on crack when they wrote this book (or it's some deep metaphor for blah blah blah...).

Double Play, by Robert B Parker
Two not very good books in a row here. It's supposed to be a Jackie Robinson-type story, of the first black player in baseball (I think, although I've blocked most of this book out and don't like it enough to double-check the details on Amazon) and the stress and all the security around him, and that sort of thing. Except I didn't really like this book at all.

The Outsiders, by SE Hinton
A classic, about boys growing up in a gang, although they don't really mean to be your typical gang members.

Hawkes Harbor, by SE Hinton
Okay, sometimes I go on these author kicks. This one is a scary little mystery novel. Very different from The Outsiders, and good.

I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith
I wanted to like this book, and for the most part I did, but it just wasn't as great as I was hoping for. Two young girls and their parent grow up poor, rich neighbors move in, the girls get married off - it's one of those stories. It's good, I just felt like it could have been even better somehow.

Anne of Green Gables, by LM Montgomery
I love this book. Anne is an unwanted orphan who eventually wins the hearts of everyone in Avonlea. If you haven't read this book, you're really missing out.

Rumble Fish, by SE Hinton
Another book about a boy who is in a gang of sorts, but has to grow up.

The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver
A slightly random book about a young woman who decides to move across the country. On the way, a Native American woman gives her a small child, and, not knowing what else to do, she keeps the girl and ends up in Tucson, Arizona, raising a child and trying to figure out what to do with her life. Any book that features a place called "Jesus Loves You Used Tires" can't be bad.

The Penultimate Peril, by Lemony Snicket
Book twelve, which is good, because I'm starting to wonder how many bad things he can think up.

November 2005
The Shipping News, by Annie Proulx
This book annoyed me. All the sentences were short and choppy and not complete, and it drove me nuts.

Pendragon, by Stephen Lawhead
The fourth book in his series about King Arthur. Not as good as the first three (Taliesin, Merlin, and Arthur), but not a bad book by any means.

Black, by Ted Dekker
A very odd beginning to a trilogy about a mad who lives in two worlds - the now and the long ago. I haven't gotten around to reading the other two (White and Red), but I'm sure they are equally odd.

December 2005
The Bronze Bow, by Elizabeth George Speare
The story of a young man who must decide whether to follow this strange new prophet Jesus or to be against him. A good book that needs a few sequels just so I can keep reading.

Apparently Christmas really ate into my reading time. Two years down, one and a half to go!