Books Finished in 2006

Here's a list of all the books I've read over the past year.

1. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostava
2. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling*
3. Dracula by Bram Stoker
4. Night by Eli Wiezel
5. The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
6. Julius Ceasar by William Shakespeare
7. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke 5/4
8. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer 5/5
9. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams 5/14
10. Crank by Ellen Hopkins 5/15
11. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown* 5/18
12. Go Ask Alice by Anomynous* 5/20
13. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling* 5/30
14. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling*
15. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
16. Siddhartha by Hesse
17. Devil in the White City by Eric Larson
18. The Curious Incident of the Dog and the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
19. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer 8/23
20. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer* 9/6
21. Les Miserables (abridged) by Victor Hugo 9/11
22. Hairstyles of the Damned by Joe Meno 9/14
23. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad 9/20
24. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
25. The Scarlet Letter by Natheniel Hawthorne 10/11
26. The World According to Garp by John Irving 10/23
27. Oedipus the King by Sophicles 10/24
28. Oedipus at Colonus by Sophicles 11/1
29. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini 11/1
30. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray 11/16
31. Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
32. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold 11/24
33. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger 12/11
34. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom 12/16
35. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman 12/23
36. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd 12/26
37. Hunting of the Snark by Lewis Caroll 12/26

*rereads

Returned from Skiing

If you're wondering where I've been the past couple days, I was on a church ski trip. Most of the slopes were closed becase there wasn't much snow. The trails that were open were incredably crowded, which not only makes skiing difficult, but dangerous too. I fell more than once, but luckily I avoided any major injuries. I have a few scrapes on my face though, but they're all healing up pretty quickly. I didn't get many pictures of the slopes, but here's my favorite one of all of us tubing.

Most Over Hyped Book Awards

THE FIRST PLACE PRIZE goes to Christopher Paolini's Eragon. This fantasy book defines 'over hype.' I couldn't even finish it. After 200 pages I finally realized I didn't care what happened on page 201. Maybe it would have gotten better if I kept going, but by that point I had to consider the precious hours of my life wasted reading Eragon I'll never be able to get back. This book basically ripped off every other popular fantasy story. It's a montage of Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and other excellent conceptions. It's okay to borrow from other creations, but Eragon had nothing original. The characters felt like they were reincarnations of what smarter people already made. The book was written when Paolini was fifteen-ish. By those standards, I can't deny Eragon is impressive, but that doesn't mean it should have been published. It definitely does not deserve all the praise. Don't waste your time. Read Philip Pullman or J. K. Rowling instead.

THE SECOND PLACE PRIZE goes to Artemous Fowl by Eoin Colfer. This one I actually finished. It's not the worst thing I've ever read, but it wasn't good, that's for sure. Maybe okay (at best). This book is everywhere, but apparently popularity isn't a sign of quality. I literally forced myself to finish it. Why do people read this book? or a better question, why do people read the sequels? I think there's about five of them out by now. I'm still baffled at how it got on the New York Times Best-seller list. Maybe it was mistaken with another book with a similar title. Maybe the publishers paid a lot of money to get it up there. Maybe I'm really missing something. I don't get it.

THE THIRD PLACE PRIZE goes to Mark Haddon's The Curios Incident of the Dog and the Night-Time. I actually sort of kind of, maybe a little, liked (not loved or enjoyed) this book. People rave about Haddon's debut novel. I've overheard conversations in a book store about how 'amazing' it is. More than one of my friends has claimed it's their favorite book ever (which is a pretty serious statement if you ask me). To be honest, everybody I've heard talk about its awesomeness doesn't read a lot. When they do it's usually required by a class he or she is taking. After expressing distaste for the fine art of literature (thus insulting me) they insist this book must be special if it got someone like them to enjoy reading. Let me assure you, The Curious Incident of the Dog and the Night-Time is really nothing special. It's widely read because the book is written at about a fourth grade reading level and has pictures (no lie). I realize both of those factors are story telling tools of Haddon. There's nothing wrong with that, but simplified vocabulary and drawings don't make a book a good read, they make it an easy read. The Curious Incident of the Dog and the Night-Time is likely to disappoint booklovers.

If you want summeries or maybe would like to read another person's (more positive) opinion check out Eragon, Artemous Fowl, or The Curious Incident of the Dog and the Night-Time at Amazon.com.

The Secret Life of Bees

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd takes place in South Carolina 1964, where controversy about black's civil rights was everywhere. The book takes this theme to tell a story about how a person's skin color does not determine who they can love or be loved by. Lily, a teenage girl, and Rosaleen, her black nanny (and mother figure) run away from Lily's abusive father to find out what is the true meaning of family. They find a trio of bee keeping sisters who become Lily's and Rosaleen's new sisters, mothers, and friends. The book has a reputation for being a 'girl book,' but I didn't get that vibe when I read it. This idea probably came from the fact that the majority of the characters are female, but the themes and relationships in The Secret Life of Bees are very different from your typical 'chick-lit.' If anything the book was more like a mystery novel. Kidd keeps you itching to know what happened to Lily's mother. The book was told in first person so the reader takes on the same emotions as Lily. You will laugh, cry, and angrily throw jars of honey along with her. (Well, maybe not throw things). One thing about the book I did not like was some metaphors were stated too bluntly by the author. I like to search for hidden meaning and draw my own parallels, not have them shouted at me. Not everybody's like me though. Some people might like having those points spelled out for them. I personally enjoy thinking about the books I read and having the ideas presented in them to be open to interpretation. The Secret Life of Bees never gave me that chance. All in all, it was a really good read, despite the author’s assumption that all her readers can't think for themselves.

See more reviews or buy The Secret Life of Bees at Amazon.

The Golden Compass

I've had about a bazillion people tell me I need to read the His Dark Materials Trilogy. Supposedly, they're the best fantasy books out there. I'm not sure if I would go that far in expressing my appreciation of The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, but I did really enjoy the first installment of the three part series. The Golden Compass is about a young girl, Lyra, and her quest to save her best friend, who was captured by an intimidating, powerful and sickly cruel society. Along the way, she makes many intriguing friends. Her enemies, who were ambiguous at first, become more defined. The book is full of adventure, plot twists, and lots of lovable characters. It was a pure fantasy story. If fantasy's your thing, The Golden Compass is a must read. If not, I suggest you give it a try anyways. The book is very driven by emotions. I cried once or twice. The other two stories (The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass) I have yet to finish. Based on The Golden Compass, I am very tempted to declare the series over-hyped, but I need to finish all three before I make that claim. The first book, though very good, did not live up to its praise. Keep in mind, these stories are geared towards children and I've kind of outgrown that age group. Maybe if I’d read the book when I was ten or eleven, it may have been as amazing as people say it is (not to say this book couldn't be enjoyed at all ages). I don't know. I really did love it, but be skeptical about what you hear from fans, and even me. You’re best bet would be to find out for yourself and read it.

This series has caused quite a bit of controversy in the church, which surprises me now that I've completed the first book. People have criticized that the books are anti-Christian. Based on The Golden Compass, these ideas are ridiculous because the book can (and was probably meant to) be seen as very pro-Christian theology. The church is not on the side of our hero, Lyra, but that doesn't imply Pullman was attempting to rob children of their faith. In the book, the church is suppressing children. This doesn't signify the church itself is evil; it means the church suppressing people is wrong. The Golden Compass does have many Christian themes throughout the story and I think if there's a point the Philip Pullman is trying to make about faith, it is more strongly presented in the pro-Christian light.

The Golden Compass has also been published under the alternate title The Northern Lights.

See more reviews or buy The Golden Compass at Amazon.

Happy Christmas

Season's greeting from me to... well... everybody! I hope you're all catching up on that sleep you've been missing out on due to school or work or whatever has keeping you from spending some quality time with your pillow. I've been taking advantage of the alarmless mornings and slept in almost every day since we got out of school, sometimes a little too late.

Surprisingly, I got lots and lots of books for Christmas this year, so there will be lots for me to comment on later. I don't actually have the majority of them in my possession right now. They're being shipped at the moment. Thanks Mom and Dad, and Stevie too.

I just finished The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman and am currently reading The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. It's interesting. I'm not to far into it, but so far so good.

Kay bye.

Tuesdays with Morrie

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom is one of the saddest books I've ever read (the number one title still belongs to Ella Enchanted). The book was about a young man and a teacher from his past. The memoir consists of Albom's last few weeks spent with Morrie, his college professor, and the lessons he learned from him in the meantime. Morrie is dying, and although the book is centered around his coming death, the lessons are about life. The book's only fault was being a little cliche, but don't let that stop you from reading it. We've heard most of the lessons before (i.e. take some time to stop and smell the roses), but the way Albom expresses them through the dialogue between Morrie and himself is beautiful. It's definitely one of those stories you never forget.

See more reviews or buy Tuesdays with Morrie at Amazon.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Our good friend Jo just announced the title for book seven on her website.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Oh! I'm so excited!

ACT Scores are Here

Today felt like Christmas. It's the day we've all been waiting for... ACT scores were finally posted online. I jumped out of bed when my alarm went off, skipped past the Christmas tree straight to our beloved computer, where I found the highly anticipated scores. I was happy with how I did. They only posted the multiple choice portions, so I'm still nervously waiting for the writing part to be graded.

Excerpt from TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE

This was my favorite part of that entire book. I'm really not sure if it's legal to post this on the internet or not. Hopefully I won't get caught, or worse sued.

“Okay. The story is about a little wave, bobbing along in the ocean, having a grand old time. He’s enjoying the wind and the fresh air—until he notices the other waves in front of him, crashing against the shore.
“‘My God, this is terrible,’ the wave says. ‘Look what’s going to happen to me!’
“Then comes along another wave. It sees the first wave, looking grim, and says to him, ‘Why do you look so sad?’
“The first wave says, ‘You don’t understand! We’re all going to crash! All of us are going to be nothing! Isn’t it terrible?’
“The second wave says, ‘No, you don’t understand. You’re not a wave, you’re part of the ocean.’"

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom