9 posts tagged “fiction”

The second book in the "Chicks with Sticks" series. Another fluffy and light fun book about knitting and girls in high school.

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Scottie, Tay, Amanda, and Bella are reunited in this second installment in the series. Scottie, wearing her frumpy lilac sweatpants, runs into a gorgeous hunk in her apartment building. She and Beck begin dating, and the world of the chicks is never the same. As Scottie watches Tay and Amanda struggle with their relationships, she wonders how to balance her friends and Beck-and how much a part of his life she really is. (Bella has sworn off men, for the time being.) As they knit their way through their problems, the teens deal with loyalty to friends when a new boy enters the picture. While each of the four girls is a "type," the deftly explored issues mirror what adolescents have been experiencing for decades. This book deals more with the emotional side of relationships than with the physical, and, although the ending is convenient, the feelings are real.

I only pick this because I'm a huge Russian Lit fan and I still haven't read this.

The Thirteenth Tale

This was a book I read about on someone's blog. I had no idea what it was about, I just reserved it and read it quickly since it was due back before a lot of other things.
I was completely mesmerized by it.
It's the story of a famous writer who's life is surrounded by mystery. She calls upon a woman to write her biography and the tale unfolds. It was completely breathtaking. I will definitely read it again.

The Dollhouse Murders
This was one of my favorite books when I was kid. It was one of those books that I read over and over again. A fun little ghost story about dolls that move themselves around.


Total books for year: 30

This was a difficult read. I had read half of it before and never really got into it. The story was unique and interesting, and I liked that the point of view changed through the novel, but the font changes annoyed me more than helped me. I also really, really disliked the mother. I thought she was dense and annoying and a little dim. The father was amazing. I could have read an entire book about him.

I think this would be an interesting read for an ethics class. There are so many different views at work in this book, I'd love to hear other people's views of it.

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Anna was genetically engineered to be a perfect match for her cancer-ridden older sister. Since birth, the 13-year-old has donated platelets, blood, her umbilical cord, and bone marrow as part of her family's struggle to lengthen Kate's life. Anna is now being considered as a kidney donor in a last-ditch attempt to save her 16-year-old sister. As this compelling story opens, Anna has hired a lawyer to represent her in a medical emancipation suit to allow her to have control over her own body. Picoult skillfully relates the ensuing drama from the points of view of the parents; Anna; Cambell, the self-absorbed lawyer; Julia, the court-appointed guardian ad litem; and Jesse, the troubled oldest child in the family. Everyone's quandary is explicated and each of the characters is fully developed. There seems to be no easy answer, and readers are likely to be sympathetic to all sides of the case. This is a real page-turner and frighteningly thought-provoking. The story shows evidence of thorough research and the unexpected twist at the end will surprise almost everyone.

I decided to re-read a few childhood favorites since I am going to be home for a while.

I was a big fan of ghost stories. I read just about everything I could find. Some were crap, but some were great and I read them over and over again. This was one of the ones I read obsessively.

Unfortunately, most of the books I had from around that period are gone. I'm trying to rack my brain and think of some of the other ones I loved. The librarians must think I'm insane as I check out piles of random young adult books from the late 80's and early 90's.




The count is up to 5 for February and a total of 15 for the year!

I finished this today.

It took me a while to read. I think it's something about Susanna Clarke's style of writing. It's very, well, I don't really know how to describe it. I thought I'd give this one a try because I'm having such a difficult time getting through Jonathon Strange and Mr Norrel. I thought it was the size of the book, or my sickness, or me just being dumb for a while or something, but it really is impossible to read. I will read it for hours and only make it through 15 pages. That's not me. I can read a 200 page book in a day, especially when I'm home all day.

Both are written in almost the same style, so I know I'll make it through JS & MN, but it will take a long, long time.

I do highly recommend this book though. It's a great collection of short stories. It's a good introduction to her style. The book itself is very attractive too. I love the cover art and the illustrations inside are quite nice too.

I finished this book Monday. I'm still not really sure how I feel about it. The writing was great, but I hated all of the characters.