A Painted House by John Grisham #49

A Painted House by John Grisham is book #49 for the year.  Anyone who knows anything about books (or movies) should know who John Grisham is.  I have read a lot of his books and always enjoy them.  I knew this book would be interesting because it has nothing to do with lawyers or a courthouse.  I don't even think it says either of those words in the book at all.  I was curious to see if he could write about something that has nothing to do with lawyers.  Surprisingly, he can, he has a few other books that have nothing to do with the law.  I have only read one (Skipping Christmas) and I don't really remember what I thought of it.

I read a few reviews of A Painted House before I read the actual book and the reviews I read were very mixed.  The book is about a 7 year old boy who lives on a cotton farm in Arkansas and follows him over the summer as he experiences more than any 7 year old should ever experience.

It takes a little while to get into the real drama and conflict and all that, but I still loved it and couldn't put it down.  I liked the main boy in the story a lot.  He seemed to be way more mature than what you would expect from a 7 year old.  The only thing bad I can say about it is that I felt like it left me hanging a little bit.  I could have used one more chapter (or a even a sequel) but since it doesn't exist, I just had to make up the answers to the questions I have.

A Painted House gets 4 out of 5 stars.

Next up-The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

Promise Me by Richard Paul Evans #48

Promise Me by Richard Paul Evans is book #48.  This is his latest book that just came out in early October.  I like Richard Paul Evans as an author.  His books are always a good quick read that leave me feeling glad that I took time to read it. 

I thought this particular book of his was a little bit different than his other books for a few reasons.  I guess most of his books have some kind of miracle involved that changes the lives of the characters, but the way the miracle played out in this one was kind of weird and disturbing at the same time.  I liked the story and it was definitely interesting, but I was a little disturbed by part of the story line, and not just a little part, but the major part.

I would love to talk to anyone who has read this book and their thoughts on it.  If you like Richard Paul Evans, you will like this book, but be warned that it is a little different than his other books, but still kind of the same.  I'm sorry I know I am not making any sense, but if you read the book you will understand.  If you have read the book, let me know what you thought of it and if you were disturbed by it like I was.

Promise Me gets 4 out of 5 stars.

Next up-A Painted House by John Grisham

Tags and 2011

I have added tags to all my previous posts.  I added one for 5 star books, one for 4 star books, and one for books that got less than 4 stars.  My sister gave me the idea and thought it would be easier to search for the books I liked that way.

I just finished book #49 this morning so I will hopefully be posting reviews on #48 and #49 today or tomorrow.  I'm getting close and can't wait to be able to say that I did it.

The whole reason I made this goal was to get the list of books that I want to read down to at least a manageable size.  I don't know how many were on that list for sure, but I think there were 40-50 books.  My list right now has 46, which does not count the 4 I have on hold at the library.  So obviously my bright idea didn't work.

That brings me to my idea for next year (I'm going to start as soon as I finish the 52 books though).  I have put all the books on my list in alphabetical order and I am going to start at the top of my list and read as many as I can.  I would like to finish the list as it stands right now, but it probably won't happen, which is fine.  I just want to get some of these books off of my list.  Some of these books have been on my list since I worked at my last job, which I quit almost 4 1/2 years ago!  It's time to finally take the time to read them.

Maybe I will even post the list when I start with it.  There is one book that I might read out of order because I keep hearing so much about it, and it starts with a "r" which will take me forever to get to.  It's going to be hard for me to stick to the list in order but I am determined to do it.

The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg #47

The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg was just the book I needed. I have been struggling with reading lately. I think part of it is that I am getting so close to my goal that it makes it harder. I needed a light vacation type book. A vacation book is just one that is an easy read and fun, and this book was it! I read about it in a magazine and knew it would cure my slump.

The story is about a bunch of high school girls that decide to make a pact to not date boys anymore and they turn it into a club. It was entertaining and fun to read. It wasn't life changing or anything like that, but I liked it alot. There really wasn't anything to not like about it.

The Lonely Hearts Club gets 5 out of 5 stars.

Next up-Promise Me by Richard Paul Evans

Mrs. Mike by Benedict Freedman and Nancy Freedman-FAILED

So I failed to finish a book. This one does not count toward my goal of 52. I found this one in a pile of my mom's books, I think she read it for her book club. I got about 100 pages into it and could barely make myself pick it up to read it. My problem with it is that nothing was happening. There really wasn't any conflict going on. I decided one day to finish the chapter I was in the middle of and if nothing was happening I was done. I couldn't even read the whole rest of the chapter, I skimmed it and put it down.

I did like the very beginning of the book, probably the first 20-30 pages and then it kind of lost my interest.

Mrs. Mike gets 1 out of 5 stars.

Next up-The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg

Mercy by Jodi Picoult # 46

Mercy by Jodi Picoult was an interesting read. It was written back when Dr. Kevorkian became well-known and centers around the idea of how far people are willing to go for the person they love. Like most of her books, it is one that leaves you thinking about it for a while after you finish it.

There were parts of it that bugged me. There was one character in particular that I really did not like at all. He used his wife and it really irritated me.

Overall it was a "typical" Jodi Picoult book. I liked it, it made me think and I was ready for a "lighter" read for the next book on my list.

Mercy gets 4 out of 5 stars.

Next up-Mrs. Mike by Benedict Freedman and Nancy Freedman