April - July 2008

April 2008
Angela’s Ashes, by Frank McCourt
I’ll admit it – I didn’t really like this book. The author grows up poor and Catholic. Life sucks. I’m normally okay with this type of book, but this one just bored me.

Bunnicula, by Deborah & James Howe
A family gets a new pet bunny, and the cat is convinced that it’s a vampire. The dog is sort of clueless, but goes along with the dog anyway. An amusing and quick read.

Thieves’ World, edited by Robert Asprin
Several fantasy authors contributed to this book, creating a world and each adding a couple characters and stories. It’s a cool concept, and an interesting read.

Pigs in Heaven, by Barbara Kingsolver
Let me just say that I’ve enjoyed nearly every Barbara Kingsolver book that I have read. This is no exception. The main characters from The Bean Trees, Taylor and her adopted daughter, Turtle, are a few years older and Turtle’s Indian tribe wants her back. Taylor must convince the lawyer that Turtle is better off with her. The characters are interesting, realistic, and funny, and the story is thought-provoking.

The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd
A teenage girl and her family’s black servant run away. The girl is escaping her abusive father. The woman is escaping the law after she runs into trouble on her way to register to vote in the 1960s South. They end up living with a beekeeping family of three sisters. The girl becomes a beekeeping, honey-making apprentice, and learns about herself, her mother, and how you don’t have to be related to be family. An excellent book, and the movie is pretty good as well.

May 2008
Nineteen Minutes, by Jodi Picoult
Always one who is drawn to current controversial topics, Jodi Picoult writes about that charming rite of passage in the 1990s and 2000s – the school shooting. The book focuses on the accused shooter and his family. It’s an intriguing look at the side of the story that is often overlooked by the media.

Julie & Julia, by Julie Powell
A directionless woman in New York City decides to cook every recipe in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1 in a year. With a lot of help from her husband, much swearing, tons of butter, and an unwavering focus, she makes it with shreds of her sanity still intact, which is one of the more impressive parts. This book always makes me hungry, and makes me want to cook food that doesn’t come out of a box.

Hood, by Stephen Lawhead
This is book one in a brand new trilogy about Robin Hood. I’m a sucker for all things Robin Hood, and I like Stephen Lawhead, so it seemed like a win-win for me. It’s a bit political and sometimes confusing, but a good book nonetheless.

Peter and the Starcatchers, by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
The first in a series of books about Peter Pan, this book completely re-imagines the original story of how Peter Pan ended up as an ageless boy and met Wendy and Captain Hook. It’s delightfully entertaining, as you would expect from Dave Barry.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by CS Lewis
Prince Caspian, by CS Lewis
Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by CS Lewis
The Silver Chair, by CS Lewis
The Horse and His Boy, by CS Lewis
The Magician’s Nephew, by CS Lewis
The Last Battle, by CS Lewis
I can never decide which of the Chronicles of Narnia is my favorite. Even The Magician’s Nephew, with its foolish characters, has grown on me over time. I think they are all wonderful, whether or not you put stock into the Christian allegory behind them.

June 2008
Blindsided, by Brian Palmer
This was a manuscript that a friend of mine asked me to read, so I’ll keep the details to myself and make you read it when it is published. It’s about a woman whose husband and child are killed in a car accident (in the first chapter – I’m not revealing any secrets here) and how she copes with the loss of family and dreams all in one fell swoop. It’s very good.

The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster
My bi-annual re-read of this book. It’s awesome.

The Happy Hollisters on a River Trip, by Jerry West
I discovered that my mother had not given away my Happy Hollister books, and had to read this one again. It’s the first or second in the series, and introduces the Hollister family – Pete, 12; Pam, 10; Ricky, 7; Holly, 6; and Sue, 4. They have adventures and make friends and do all sorts of fun things that I could only dream about when I was a little kid.

A Salty Piece of Land, by Jimmy Buffett
A cowboy escapes from the midwestern US and ends up in the Caribbean, working at a fishing resort, then restoring an ancient lighthouse. It’s a light read, full of wacky island characters and decidedly non-boring-old-America escapades.

Phule’s Company, by Robert Asprin
The author of the pun-tastic Myth series also has a series (of at least two) about an outcast army commander on some random planet. He’s the son of a rich and influential man, so instead of kicking him out of the army, they give him a group of misfits and hide them all away in a dark corner of the galaxy. Naturally, the army turns out to be brilliant under their new commander, and many puns ensue.

July 2008
The Mermaid Chair, by Sue Monk Kidd
While not as awesome as The Secret Life of Bees, this was still a good book, about a family that lives on an island, then grows up and goes their separate ways. Upon returning to the island, the daughter has to confront her childhood ghosts – her father’s death and her crummy relationship with her mother – as well as decide what to do with her own life.

Shoeless Joe, by WP Kinsella
This is the book that my favorite movie, Field of Dreams, is based on. I think the movie is slightly better, but that may just be because I saw it several times before I ever read the book. You can’t go wrong with either one, really.

Scarlet, by Stephen Lawhead
Book two in his Robin Hood trilogy.

Just Play Ball, by Joe Garagiola
A non-fiction book by a former baseball player and broadcaster, I found this book to be sort of…blah. Normally I’m all about the anecdotes from a baseball player’s life, but for some reason, I didn’t find this to be all that interesting.

Lost in a Good Book, by Jasper Fforde
The sequel to The Eyre Affair, this book follows Thursday Next as she becomes a literary detective, chasing criminals through books and real life. Works of Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe, and Charles Dickens are all featured in this novel, and it’s a fun time.

In Her Shoes, by Jennifer Weiner
A friend convinced me to read this, and I was pleasantly surprised – it’s not as airheadedly chick-flicky as the movie previews led me to believe. Two sisters are trying to get along as adults, after living completely different lives. It’s about family, believing in yourself, and how relationships can change as you get older.

Well of Lost Plots, by Jasper Fforde
Book 3 in the Thursday Next series finds Thursday hiding among unpublished books for some well-deserved rest and relaxation. Unfortunately, it’s not as restful as one might hope, and there is a murderer on the loose.

Love is a Mix Tape, by Rob Sheffield
A non-fiction book about a man who goes through mix tapes that he created for and with his wife, before she died unexpectedly. Each tape has a story as part of their relationship. It’s interesting, although I wasn’t familiar with a lot of the songs that he mentioned.

To My Dearest Friends, by Patricia Volk
A woman dies, and leaves two of her closest friends – who do not know each other well and seem like complete opposites – a note with a bit of a mystery behind it. The women discover that their friend had many different sides to her personality, and each only knew a small part of the woman they thought they knew so well.

Treason, by Orson Scott Card
A man discovers that in addition to regenerating body parts, as all of his kind are able to do, he can generate female body parts. Unfortunately, this is not a popular trait, and he is exiled. While making his way all alone, he finds other outcasts and begins to wonder why his society is the way it is, and ponder the possibility of a better life.

Howliday Inn, by Deborah & James Howe
The dog and cat from Bunnicula are boarded at a suspicious place while their family goes on vacation. Naturally, the cat is convinced that something evil is going on, and the dog is mostly concerned about his next meal.