#9
Born on a Blue Day
Daniel Tammet
2006
226
Non-Fiction
5+
Library
WOW. Daniel introduces us to his world as a savant. This is truly an amazing journey through the world of autism. Daniel sees the world in numbers, colors and shapes. And this is his adventure into finding his place in the world. I wouldn't recommend this as an audio book because there are shapes and diagrams that show how Daniel sees things in his mind. Favorite Quotes: "Most important of all, give your children the self-belief to hold on to their dreams, because they are the things that shape each person's future. "You don't have to be disabled to be different, everybody's different". "For the first time I had to realize that thought and logic had limits and could only take a person so far"
DNF
Mistress in the Art of Death
Ariana Franklin
2007
Historical Fiction
Library
I read somewhere that this is the first book in a new series. Try as I might, I just could not finish this book. The author wobbles all over the place. Is she telling a murder mystery or writing a history book. Long, boring, drawn out with no clear direction. Medieval Cambridge, four children are found dead and it's up to a woman doctor from Italy to find the killer. Great premise, but something was lost.
#10
Murder on the Iditarod Trail
Sue Henry
1993
Cozy Mystery
3.5
Library
Audio. First in the series. It sure is hard keeping all the mushers straight. Good thing she put a woman musher in there, but then again, who would the main male character fall in love with after meeting one time. I don't want to be too cynical, it is a good audio version, but if it was a book, I think I would have put it down by now. Pretty much the title tells the story. Mushers are being killed off during the race. Who is the main target and will it be discovered before the race is over.
#11
Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom
Julie Kenner
2005
360
Fiction
4.5
PBS
What if Buffy the Vampire Slayer grew up and had to fit demon slaying into her busy schedule of being a wife and mom. Funny premise and a great beginning to a new series. And of course there is an older grandfather figure that just makes you laugh. Gives Stephanie Plums grandmother a run for her money.
DNF
Population 485: Meeting your neighbors one siren at a time
Michael Perry
2002
Library
Didn't grab me from the beginning and I didn't see the need to finish. Small town )Population: 485) volunteer fireman/paramedic and the people that he comes in contact when he is called out on emergencies. Sounded like it should be good, just wasn't.
#12
Chasing the Dead
Joe Schreiber
2007
196
Fiction - Thriller
4
Library
A phone call suddenly grabs Sue's attention when the caller informs her that he has her daughter and if she doesn't follow his specific instructions she will never see her daughter again. This isn't your typical "kidnapped book", it takes a bizarre twist midway through that has you turning the pages very quickly. Quite a few "ohh" and "yuck" moments, but still a good read.
#13
Died to Match
Debora Donnelly
2002
309
Cozy Mystery
4
PBS
Actually, I think that I enjoyed this one better than the first. Carnegie is organizing the wedding of a good friend when people start dying. She thinks she has it figured out only to discover that she is unknowingly giving clues to the real killer. As for the end - That was so totally unfair, ending abruptly with an "oh my gosh moment making me scramble for the next in the series.
#14
Fifth Horseman
James Patterson
0
Mystery
4
Library
Audio. I really enjoy this series on audio. Carolyn McCormick delivers a great narration. Women's Murder Club series. Beautiful women are found murdered and left in beautiful clothes, patients are found murdered in the hospital with coins on their eyes, including the mother of one of the Women's Murder Club - are the deaths related? Or is it just another horrible week in the life of Lindsey Boxer? The end got a little twisty and I had a hard time figuring it out, but it was still a good audio.
#15
Track of the Cat
Nevada Barr
1993
218
Mystery
4.5
TBR
First in the Anna Pigeon Series. Years ago I was told that this was a great series, but I just didn't believe the person who told me. Guess I should have. Anna is a National Park Ranger and when two of her fellow rangers have mysterious deaths Anna investigates, almost gets herself killed. Anna will question many things in her life, but she makes for a great character.
#4
Movie: 300
3
Theater
Gruesome, Gorey and Gross. Didn't really like it and didn't really understand it. Mostly visual effects. Spartans battles the Persians. Guess I should have paid more attention in my history class.
#5
Movie: Finding Neverland
4.5
Netflix
The story behind the writing of Peter Pan. Don't know why I kept putting this off - just loved it. Once again Depp and Winslet are wonderful.
#6
Movie: Big Love Season 1: Disk 4
4
Netflix
I don’t know why I love this series, but I just do. Polygamist with 3 wives and a whole lot of trouble.
Total Pages Read - MARCH 1309
Thursday, April 5, 2007
February Books and Movies
#5
Night
Elie Wiesel
0
Non-Fiction
4
Library
Audio. I have put both this book and Sophie's Choice off for a long time. The subject matter is just to abhorrent to me that I truly had a hard time trying to stomach it and just couldn't force myself to read them. Having said that, I think I let my imagination run away with itself because I wasn't as drawn in by this book as I thought I would be. Maybe because I wouldn't let myself. Maybe because the writing wasn't as gut wrenching at I assumed it would be. Maybe because man's inhumanity to man isn't so "new" or "surprising" anymore.
#6
Dead for Life
Ethan Black
2003
320
Fiction
3.5
Library
Apparently Ethan Black is a hit or miss kind of author and unfortunately this was a miss for me. Conrad Voort is from the first family of police investigators in NYC. A serial killer has decided that Voort is the reason why his life has gone from perfect to victim. The killer has planned 4 murders before midnight and leaves a note at each site that only Voort understands.
DNF
Godless the Church of Liberalism
Ann Coulter
2006
0
Non-Fiction
Library
Audio. I need to switch over to the book. Ann is the narrator and she talks way too fast for me to digest this. I know that most people don't like her, but I think she is funny.
#7
The Friday Night Knitting Club
Kate Jacobs
2007
352
Fiction
3.5
Library
When Georgia discovers that she is pregnant and James is out of her life, she has some important life decisions to make - one of which is to not go home to her parents, but to stay in New York and find a way to support herself and her daughter. The only thing that she knows how to do well is knit. With the help of a mentor and new friend, Walker and Daughter Yarn Shop is born. I was enjoying this book and the characters, but then the author lost direction and need to end the book and suddenly she dropped the big "C" with complications and not everyone lives so happily ever after. I hate when an author does that. That has been done repeatedly, can't authors be more creative.
#8
The Last Town on Earth
Thomas Mullens
2006
392
Historical Fiction
3
Library
A long drawn out tedious book. Based on the 1918 Flu Epidemic that swept across America. This book takes place in the mythical town of Commonwealth, Washington. When the flu begins to hit neighboring towns hard, the owners of a remote mill town decide to cut themselves off and live in a self imposed quarantine. All seems to go well until the flu comes to town. Was it carried by the two soldiers or were there other reasons? Alot of guilt and a lot of finger pointing. The last quarter of the book was better then the beginning. You just have to muddle through to get there.
#3
Movie: Emma
5
Masterpiece Theater
The new 2007 version. I really enjoyed this adaptation. For some reason it was easier to follow.
Total Pages Read - February 1064
Night
Elie Wiesel
0
Non-Fiction
4
Library
Audio. I have put both this book and Sophie's Choice off for a long time. The subject matter is just to abhorrent to me that I truly had a hard time trying to stomach it and just couldn't force myself to read them. Having said that, I think I let my imagination run away with itself because I wasn't as drawn in by this book as I thought I would be. Maybe because I wouldn't let myself. Maybe because the writing wasn't as gut wrenching at I assumed it would be. Maybe because man's inhumanity to man isn't so "new" or "surprising" anymore.
#6
Dead for Life
Ethan Black
2003
320
Fiction
3.5
Library
Apparently Ethan Black is a hit or miss kind of author and unfortunately this was a miss for me. Conrad Voort is from the first family of police investigators in NYC. A serial killer has decided that Voort is the reason why his life has gone from perfect to victim. The killer has planned 4 murders before midnight and leaves a note at each site that only Voort understands.
DNF
Godless the Church of Liberalism
Ann Coulter
2006
0
Non-Fiction
Library
Audio. I need to switch over to the book. Ann is the narrator and she talks way too fast for me to digest this. I know that most people don't like her, but I think she is funny.
#7
The Friday Night Knitting Club
Kate Jacobs
2007
352
Fiction
3.5
Library
When Georgia discovers that she is pregnant and James is out of her life, she has some important life decisions to make - one of which is to not go home to her parents, but to stay in New York and find a way to support herself and her daughter. The only thing that she knows how to do well is knit. With the help of a mentor and new friend, Walker and Daughter Yarn Shop is born. I was enjoying this book and the characters, but then the author lost direction and need to end the book and suddenly she dropped the big "C" with complications and not everyone lives so happily ever after. I hate when an author does that. That has been done repeatedly, can't authors be more creative.
#8
The Last Town on Earth
Thomas Mullens
2006
392
Historical Fiction
3
Library
A long drawn out tedious book. Based on the 1918 Flu Epidemic that swept across America. This book takes place in the mythical town of Commonwealth, Washington. When the flu begins to hit neighboring towns hard, the owners of a remote mill town decide to cut themselves off and live in a self imposed quarantine. All seems to go well until the flu comes to town. Was it carried by the two soldiers or were there other reasons? Alot of guilt and a lot of finger pointing. The last quarter of the book was better then the beginning. You just have to muddle through to get there.
#3
Movie: Emma
5
Masterpiece Theater
The new 2007 version. I really enjoyed this adaptation. For some reason it was easier to follow.
Total Pages Read - February 1064
January Books and Movies
#1
Anything Goes
Jill Churchill
1999
246
Cozy Mystery
4
TBR/ PBS
Great start to a new series. Lily and her brother Robert inherit a home from a little known uncle during the depression. The conditions of the home ownership are a bit murky, but the town has a few secrets revealed when a man is found murdered in their kitchen.
#2
Book Thief
Markus Zusak
2006
560
Fiction
4.5
Library
Liesel Meminger, a foster child living outside Munich during World War II, scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can't resist--books--in this unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.
#3
My Secret PostSecret
Frank Warren
2006
144
Non-Fiction
4
Library
At the beginning of 2005, Frank Warren launched a new blog called PostSecret as an experiment in community art, inviting strangers to mail him anonymous postcards that made art out of their innermost secrets and then posting a selection of the cards every week on his blog. My Secret is his second book, a collection of cards from teens and college students--none of which has been shown on the website--that carries the same emotional power and creativity that have made Warren's project a phenomenon.
#4
St. Dale
Sharyn McCrumb
2005
311
Fiction
4
Library
A group of stock car racing fans embarks on a bus tour of Southern speedways—seven states in eight days—as a tribute to legendary NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt. I know most won't be interested in this quirky book, but I really enjoyed it. The tour participants are quite interesting in their own right, but you really get to know them all and I will miss them. Plus with McCrumb's sense of humor you learn more about NASCAR then you thought you would want to. Didn't know that NASCAR also stands for Non-Athletic Sport Centered Around Rednecks.
#1
Movie: Night in the Museum
4
Theater
First of all I am not a Ben Stiller fan, but that being said, I liked this movie. What would happen if all of the displays were to come alive after dark in a museum? Very funny scenes, but some of the "one liners" are definitely not for children, that is if they understand what is being said. I would recommend for ages 10+.
#2
Movie: Howl's Moving Castle
3+
Netflix
Beautiful animation, but the story is a bit lame. Evil spells and they all lived happily ever after.
Total Pages Read - January
1261
Anything Goes
Jill Churchill
1999
246
Cozy Mystery
4
TBR/ PBS
Great start to a new series. Lily and her brother Robert inherit a home from a little known uncle during the depression. The conditions of the home ownership are a bit murky, but the town has a few secrets revealed when a man is found murdered in their kitchen.
#2
Book Thief
Markus Zusak
2006
560
Fiction
4.5
Library
Liesel Meminger, a foster child living outside Munich during World War II, scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can't resist--books--in this unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.
#3
My Secret PostSecret
Frank Warren
2006
144
Non-Fiction
4
Library
At the beginning of 2005, Frank Warren launched a new blog called PostSecret as an experiment in community art, inviting strangers to mail him anonymous postcards that made art out of their innermost secrets and then posting a selection of the cards every week on his blog. My Secret is his second book, a collection of cards from teens and college students--none of which has been shown on the website--that carries the same emotional power and creativity that have made Warren's project a phenomenon.
#4
St. Dale
Sharyn McCrumb
2005
311
Fiction
4
Library
A group of stock car racing fans embarks on a bus tour of Southern speedways—seven states in eight days—as a tribute to legendary NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt. I know most won't be interested in this quirky book, but I really enjoyed it. The tour participants are quite interesting in their own right, but you really get to know them all and I will miss them. Plus with McCrumb's sense of humor you learn more about NASCAR then you thought you would want to. Didn't know that NASCAR also stands for Non-Athletic Sport Centered Around Rednecks.
#1
Movie: Night in the Museum
4
Theater
First of all I am not a Ben Stiller fan, but that being said, I liked this movie. What would happen if all of the displays were to come alive after dark in a museum? Very funny scenes, but some of the "one liners" are definitely not for children, that is if they understand what is being said. I would recommend for ages 10+.
#2
Movie: Howl's Moving Castle
3+
Netflix
Beautiful animation, but the story is a bit lame. Evil spells and they all lived happily ever after.
Total Pages Read - January
1261
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