Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns

Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns has also been on my list for a while.  So long in fact that I realized on page 2 that I had already read this one, so I didn't finish it. 

I remember liking the story enough.  It wasn't anything that I went on to recommend to anyone else.  It was entertaining enough to read one time, but I didn't have much of a desire to read it again.

Cold Sassy Tree gets 3 out of 5 stars.

Blessings by Belva Plain

Blessings by Belva Plain is a book that has been on my list for a long time.  I'm not sure how or why it made it on the list but it did. 

It was a good book, nothing earth shattering, but not boring either.  It was just kind of middle of the road for me.  I did find myself frustrated with the main character on and off throughout the book though.

Blessings gets 3 out of 5 stars.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Atlas Shrugged is a book that I saw mentioned on Facebook so I decided to add it to the list.  The book is 1500 pages of small print.  It has got to be a book that people are frequently asked to read in English classes in high school.  It just has that type of feel to it.  The whole time I kept thinking "I should highlight that, it could be important later."  Then reminding myself that I am not being tested on this later.


I got about 300 pages into it and then skimmed it for a while and then gave up and read a cliffs note version online.  It was okay, just not my type of book.

Atlas Shrugged gets 2 out of 5 stars.

The Fourth Hand by John Irving

I should have put The Fourth Hand down under F's in my alphabetical list, but for whatever reason had it as a number instead of written out.  This is one of the books that has been on my list for years and I don't know how or why it got on my list.

Part of me really liked the book and found the story intriguing.  Part of me got annoyed by the book at the same time.  The story is about a news reporter that loses his hand in an accident and then years later receives a hand transplant.  The story itself was really interesting and I liked it for the most part.

The part I didn't like was that the main character reminded me of the main character from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  In both that book and this one the main character sleeps with just about every woman that crosses his path.  It bothers me because I spend the whole time thinking "Obviously a man wrote this book because no woman would ever create a male character like this."  I also think that I am reading the author's idol, that the author wishes he could be like those men and sleep with anyone and everyone and it irritates me.

The story was good, and other than all the sex the book itself would be good.

The Fourth Hand gets 3 out of 5 stars.

1984 By George Orwell

I had never heard of 1984 until I saw it mentioned in an article I was reading one day.  I thought it sounded interesting so I added it to the list.  After looking into it a little bit it seems to be one of those books that everyone has heard about except me.  I don't know where I have been.

It was written in 1949 about England in 1984 and what the author thought could or would have changed.  It is all about a society that has Big Brother watching them at all times and Big Brother also alters everything to be what he wants it to be.

It took me 3 weeks to get through the first 90 pages.  That's when I decided to skim the rest of it and it took me 3 hours to skim through the other 140ish pages.  It was okay.  A little too wordy for me if you know what I mean.  It was an interesting read.  If I wanted to take 6 months to read it I could have gotten through the whole thing, but it isn't really my style of book.

1984 gets 3 out of 5 stars.

House Rules by Jodi Picoult # 52-I DID IT!

Well, I did it!  I reached 52 books.  House Rules was also the last of Jodi Picoult's books that I had not read.  Well, there is a book about Wonder Woman, but I have no interest in reading it.  I thought since I wanted to read all of her books, that finishing my 52 books with the last one of hers (well, until next year) was a good way to end.

I liked House Rules, but not as much as some of her other books.  It is about a boy with Asperger's Syndrome who is obsessed with crime scene investigations and is accused of murder.  My problem with the book is that I figured out the ending pretty quick into it.  Although, I kept doubting myself because it seemed so obvious to me that I thought there might be another twist.  So the whole time I know the answer that everyone is looking for, only they aren't asking the right people the right questions.  I was yelling at the characters in my mind throughout the whole book.

The good parts of it is that, like most of her books, I liked the characters and they were all believable so it was easy to get lost in the story.  Jodi Picoult is very good at researching for her books, so it was interesting to read what a child with Asperger's is like.  I was disappointed though after reading some other reviews online to learn that she as a little off this time.  I guess she took every symptom that someone with Asperger's could have and gave them all to this kid, which obviously is not how it is in real life.

House Rules gets 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Next up-Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

P.S.  Yes, I am still going.  I have two more waiting at the library for me, then I am going to start on next year's list.

Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs # 51

Running with Scissors in one that has been on my list for a long time.  It is a memoir of the authors life during his teenage years.  Apparently there is a movie based on the book as well.  My overall statement is that I would not waste my time on the movie or the book.

The book was weird.  This guy moved in with his mother's psychiatrist as a teenager, and the psychiatrist was a little (ok, maybe a lot) crazy.  It was too graphic for me at times, and I didn't really connect to, or even care for any of the characters that much.

Running with Scissors gets 1 out of 5 stars.

Next up-House Rules by Jodi Picoult

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

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson # 45

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo By Stieg Larsson is a book that I have heard a lot about in the last little while. I guess it has become quite popular. I requested it at the library and was #443. It took me about a month to get my hands on it. Stieg Larsson is a Swedish writer who wrote a this book and two sequels, delivered them to be printed in 2004, and died a short time later from a heart attack. The books were later translated into English. The original Swedish title translates to "Men who Hate Women", if I would have known that I might not have read it, but I only learned that after reading it.

There were two main problems I had with this book. First is that there was a lot of sexual violence against women, and other types of violence. The other problem I had was that I did not like the main male character at all. I don't want to spoil anything for those that haven't read it and might want to, but this guy sleeps with several different women throughout the book, and it's the women seducing him. I doubt this guy was that irresistible if you know what I mean.

The story was okay. It was interesting and intriguing and I found myself caring what happened and wanting to know the ending. The ending was both surprising and predictable. I know that doesn't make sense but I had pegged someone as being the "bad guy" and I was right, but the crime and motive were different than I thought.

Now my problem is trying to figure out if I should read the other two books. This one leaves off at a good part and I think the second one could be quite different, but it could be the same. I think I will pick it up and try it out, but if it continues with all the sexual violence I'm going to put it down. There are too many good books out there for me to be wasting my time on that kind of trash.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo gets 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Next up-I'm not sure yet (what?!?) I have 4 books requested at the library so whichever one comes in next will be my "Next up".

Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock #43

Princess Ben was a book that I found on Amazon. I have read similar books this year. It reminds me a lot of Graceling and Fire, only a little less believable. This book has magic and imaginary creatures, which I don't mind in books, but it didn't work as well in this book as it does in other books. I'm not sure why, but it just doesn't.

The main character bugged me at times and I thought was immature throughout most of the book, but she is young so it worked. The other problem I had with the book is that I found it a little too easy to predict. I didn't have very many surprises throughout the book.

After saying all that you will all probably think I am crazy when I say that I liked the book. It was interesting to watch the main character grow up and mature, and the story itself wasn't that bad even if it was predictable.

Princess Ben gets 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Next up-Saving Sammy by Beth Maloney

The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale #40

The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale was another interesting book. It is about a Mormon housewife/mother of soon to be 4. who meets and becomes best friends with a Hollywood actor/hunk. Since I am also a Mormon housewife and a mother of 3 I thought it could be an interesting book since I am similar enough to the main character.

The book was entertaining. It made me laugh at points, and yes, I'll admit, I cried at one point too. But overall, I didn't really get the book. I didn't find it believable at all, and I just didn't really like the storyline. While reading it, I barely put it down, but overall I just didn't like it.

The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale gets 2 out of 5 stars.

Next up-Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult # 39

Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult was # 39 on my list (I'm getting so close I can almost see it). It was a different book than most. The question is, Is that a good thing or a bad? The answer is, I haven't decided yet. I finished this one a while ago and have read several more since, but I still can't decide how I really feel about it.

The story is about a young girl whose parents have just recently been divorced. All the sudden she starts talking to God, a female God. It becomes quite the controversy for all the different characters in the book, and I am sure Jodi Picoult got some of that as well when the book first came out. Now, I have my own beliefs about God (one of which is that he is male) so while it was a good story, it felt like a story than a real-life account. The other controversy throughout the book centered around the question "Why would God choose to talk to an 8 year old child?" I kept thinking throughout the book, Well, I believe he talked to this 14 year old boy, so if he wanted to, than yes, he could talk to this 8 year old girl. Although throughout the whole book we never really hear of any specific message that God is giving to the girl, and I would think if he is going to talk, he is going to have something to say.

The story told in Keeping Faith was an okay story. Nothing spectacular or too exciting.

Keeping Faith gets 3 out of 5 stars from me.

Next up-The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale

The Last Child by John Hart #38

The Last Child by John Hart is a book that I saw in Costco and it looked interesting so I wrote down the title and author and found it at the library. I rarely buy books because I read them so fast and rarely re-read books so it becomes a waste of money.

The story is about a young boy whose little sister has been missing for a while. He is determined to find out who took her and where she is. Other parts of his life have fallen apart. His dad left him and his mom, and his mom is having a hard time dealing with all the blows life has dealt her.

It was a good book that had quite a few surprises in it. It took me a while to figure out some of the questions in the book and who was involved in what. I like it when the book I am reading aren't too predictable. This book made me think of my dad because this is the type of book he would like.

The Last Child gets 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Next up-Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult

Winter's Awakening by Shelley Shepard Gray # 37

Winter's Awakening by Shelley Shepard Gray was recommended to me by someone, and now I can't remember who. (Sorry whoever it was, I really need to start writing down who recommended what book to me.) It is an Amish love story which is always intriguing to me because let's face it, the Amish are different than anyone I have ever met. And throw in a love story? What could be better?

The book was a pretty quick and easy read. It follows three main characters as they struggle with different things and shows how they cope with the struggles. It was good and worth reading, although I felt like the struggles they were dealing with could (and should) have been resolved in 100 pages or less and it took about 250 pages.

Winter's Awakening gets 3 out of 5 stars.

Next up-The Last Child by John Hart

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater # 33

Linger is the second of a three book series. The first one is called Shiver. I read it earlier this year and have been waiting for Linger to come out for quite a while. I really like Shiver, and the ending made me want more and quickly. I remember being so disappointed when I saw the Linger was due to come out until July. So I was happy when it finally arrived at the library and I got my hands on it.

I was disappointed by Linger. I can't exactly pinpoint why either. I was a little irritated that it picked up a few months or so after the first one left off. The other problem was that it had been so long since I read the first one that I had forgotten some key information (characters, storylines, etc.) and I didn't feel like the author did a good job of reminding me. In a lot of the series books that I have read recently I feel like they do a good job of explaining things from the previous book, and this one was missing that.

That said, this book once again left me hanging and wanting to know what is going to happen next. I will probably read the third one when it comes out (July 2011). But I feel like I might need to re-read this one and maybe even the first one before I do. We'll see how I am feeling next July.

Overall it was worth reading to see what happens next in the story and it was entertaining. But I did not have a hard time putting it down, which is not a good sign.

I give Linger 3 out of 5 stars.

Next up-Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger # 29

I wanted to read The Time Traveler's Wife before seeing the movie, but it ended up not working that way. I always enjoy the book more than the movie of any story, which I think most people would agree with. I can't think of any movies I enjoyed more than the book. The movie was alright. It felt a little long for me, but I was able to follow it and it wasn't too confusing which is obviously a good thing.

The book was just okay for me. I liked it and read it pretty quickly, but it wasn't one of those books that I just can't put down. It was a good story and worth reading though. I am wondering if I would have like the book more if I had waited to see the movie after reading it. I did find myself having to turn back to previous pages to figure out where we were in time according to which character I was reading about at the time.

If you liked the movie you will like the book. I felt pretty equally about the movie as I did the book. If I could go back I would read the book first though. Overall I will say it was a good story and I am glad it was on my list of books to read, but I wouldn't re-read it.

The Time Traveler's Wife gets 3 out of 5 stars from me.

Next up-Circle of Grace by Penelope J. Stokes

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte #27

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was written by Anne Bronte in the 1840's. For that reason alone it was a little different than the type of book I usually read. The language was different than the what we speak today which means that I actually had to pay attention to what I was reading in order to follow along. I am used to being able to read and think about other things at the same time, and I wasn't able to do that with this book.

It was a little bit difficult for me to keep the different characters straight. There were several that were called by different names that began with the same letter so I kept getting them confused. It also took me a while to get into the story, it took me about 2 weeks to get through the first 100 pages (which is a long time for me). Then once I got through that it took me another 2 weeks to read the other 400 or so pages.

Overall it was a good book with a good story and worth reading. Would I take the time to read it again? Probably not. Should you read it? Yes, if the language differences aren't too annoying for you.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall gets 3 out of 5 stars from me.

Next up-The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

The Survivors by Gregg Luke #24

The Survivors is another book that I found from the reviews on the libraries website. I didn't realize until I picked it up to read that it is a LDS-fiction book. I tend to shy away from some of those types of books because they can be a little too cheesy for me. This one was no different, I wish I could say that it was and that I loved every bit of it, but I just can't.

The good parts about it is that it was an uplifting story and I did like one of the main characters a lot. There were other characters along the way that I liked too. There were also parts that made me laugh.

Unfortunately there were also parts that were too predictable for me, and others that made me roll my eyes a little bit.

As far as LDS fiction books go, it was pretty typical. If you like those types of books you should read it. Otherwise, there are a lot of other books that I would rather read.

The Survivors gets 2 out of 5 stars.

Next up-Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Letters for Emily by Camron Steve Wright #23

Letters for Emily was one I found from the libraries website. Someone had written a review and I decided to try it out. It wasn't a very long or hard read. I think I read the whole thing in one sitting and it took me about 3 hours.

The story is about an old man who leaves behind some letters for his young granddaughter, Emily, to read when he passes away. Instead of leaving them out in the open, she has to find clues which will help her find each letter. The letters are meant to be inspiring and to teach her how to live a good life. It is a little more complicated than that, of course, but that is the basic idea.

I liked the story a lot. It was nice to be able to start and finish a book in the same night. It was interesting to watch the characters deal with the different situations they had going on in their lives.

Letters for Emily gets 3 out of 5 stars.

Next up-The Survivors by Gregg Luke

Sweet Little Lies by Lauren Conrad #19

This is one of those books that I feel a little embarrassed to admit that I have read. For those that may not know, Lauren Conrad is the star of the MTV show, The Hills. I will admit that I am a fan of The Hills, more when Lauren was on than I am now though. This is a sequel to L.A. Candy, her first book. I read L.A. Candy last year mostly to see if she could write at all. When you take into account that her target audience is teenagers, it wasn't all that bad.

Both L.A. Candy and Sweet Little Lies have enough similarities to her life on The Hills that it makes you think none of it is made up, just changed here and there to make it a little different than her real life. It was an entertaining read and does show you how real "reality tv" really is. This book isn't anything that will change your life or make you think at all, but it was an entertaining read which was all I was really expecting.

Sweet Little Lies gets 3 out of 5 stars.

Next up-Fire by Kristin Cashore