Booking Through Thursday/Saturday #17: Best

On Saturday

It’s a week or two later than you’d expect, and it may be almost a trite question, but … what were your favorite books from 2008?

Already posted 'em here. So to avoid boring repetition, instead I'll post some pictures for you guys. In the spirit of winter, you know...Haha. Sorry.

Pond skating!

Made To Last...The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold - chapters 10 through 12

Welcome back to "Made to Last," the lost feature here on the blog. I swear I'm actually going to keep up on this from now on. I must finish this book.

Chapter ten:

-I never thought of Lindsey as a brain. Hmm...

-She might just be my favorite character. She does seem smart and like she can take care of herself.

-Because of that, she and Samuel had better last. I really like them together. Young love, *sighs*

-Ooh. Will Ruth and Lindsey perhaps be friends? Maybe?

-Ruth's gay. Hmm. I feel bad for her as this book takes place in the 70's - a time in the US's not so tolerant past. Not saying that we're great now, but still. 

-And she thinks she has to "hide". That's horrible. 

"If you stop asking why you were killed instead of someone else, stop investigating the vacuum left by your loss, stop wondering what everyone left on Earth is feeling," she said, "you can be free. Simply put, you have to give up on Earth."

-Do you think you would be able to do that? Give up on Earth? For me that would be nearly impossible. The very idea is hard to fathom.

-"How To Commit The Perfect Murder"? What kind of school has that kind of challenge? Sick.

-Poor Lindsey.

"In the walls of  my sex there was horror and blood, in the walls of hers there were windows."

-It's strange how a simple act can have such meaning for some people and such hollowness for others. 

Chapter Eleven:

-I always hate hearing about those murder/disappearance cases that never get resolved. To live almost a year without concretely knowing the fate of your daughter would be hell. Complete hell. 

-Mr.Harvey really covered his tracks well.

-Living in a simple house your whole life does make you dream of a house with staircases and balconies, window seats and attics. I should know.

-Was the rape and murder really worth the trouble that Mr. Harvey's putting himself through? I mean, he has clocks set for when to open and close his blinds. Police cars still drive past his house.

-He keeps tokens from his girls. Sick sick sick.

-I love Susie's father. He's real. But he IS going over the edge a little. Then again, I don't blame him...

-As I've been reading this book, I'm continually amazed by the flow and the words. Alice Sebold is nothing short of an amazing author. She really knows how to write. Everything just falls eloquently into place. I'm kind of in awe of this whole book so far.

-Mr. Salmon kind of brings to light the altar that we set our parents on. They seem almost untouchable. He proves that despite his familial responsibilities, he's just an ordinary man who experiences ordinary pain and suffering.

-A kind of pain and suffering that's making him insane.

Chapter Twelve:

-The surgeon's thoughts are really interesting. When you hear about terrible things happening to people like you, it puts everything in perspective and shows you that you're just like everyone else; just as able to be hurt.

-The thing that makes this story real to me is that it's so normal. The characters are regular people put into revealing situations. It's kind of hard to read.

"When the dead are done with the living," Franny said to me, "the living can go on to other things."

"What about the dead?" I asked. "Where do we go?"

She wouldn't answer me.

-That's too big a concept for me to even try to wrap my brain around.

-Len's wife died of suicide and Abigail's husband "died" of grief. What a perfect match. Shoot me now.

-I hope I'll be a better mother than Abigail. She's so empty and robotic. Until she met Len of course. Urgh.

-SHE HAS A HUSBAND. A PERFECTLY GOOD HUSBAND

-That Hal's my kind of guy. Smart and observant and centered. Thank god for him.

But I felt them before I saw them, small warm sparks along my arms. Then there they were, fireflies lighting up and expanding in howls and swirls as they abandoned human flesh.

"Like snowflakes," Franny said, "none of them the same and yet each one, from where we stand, exactly like the one before."

(They're describing souls leaving their bodies.)

-Mmm. I can just imagine it. 

Waiting on Wednesday #3 - Same Difference by Siobhan Vivian

Emily is ready for a change. She's been in the same town with the same friends for a long time...and none of them really understand her art. But when she goes to Philadelphia for a summer art institute, she suddenly finds like-minded people. One in particular, Fiona, intrigues and challenges her. But there are some things Emily is going to have to find out for herself -- like what the balance is between life and art, and which is more important when push comes to shove.

Check out that lousy snyopsis from Amazon.

Um. It's Siobhan Vivian. I don't think anything else needs to be said. 

She's pretty much made of awesome and as this book just received a starred review from Kirkus, I think I might pee my pants waiting for March 1st. That release date could not come soon enough for me. 

And the cover? Beautiful. :)

Memeeee.

This one looked sort of fun. Why not, right? 

Tagged by the wonderful Kaylee.

Rulios:

1. Tag 3-5 people, so the fun keeps going!
2. Leave a comment at the original post at A Striped Armchair, so that Eva can collect everyone’s answers.
3. If you leave a comment and link back to Eva as the meme’s creator, she will enter you in a book giveaway contest! She has a whole shelf devoted to giveaway books that you’ll be able to choose from, or a bookmooch point if you prefer.
4. Remember that this is all about enjoying books as physical objects, so feel free to describe the exact book you’re talking about, down to that warping from being dropped in the bath water…

The book that’s been on your shelves the longest: 

A treasury of old Beatrix Potter stories. It's this big blue hardcover that looks like one of those classic storybooks in movies that moms always crack open to read to their kids from when they're getting ready to go to bed. It's even got some ritzy gold leaf on the edges of the pages.Ah memories... <3 class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">A book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time, etc.): 

Olivia the Pig books remind me of Christmases back when I was a wee little child. :) I got a different one each year from my aunt and I loved getting them so much. I have four of the big hardcover ones...I think I'm actually missing one now so I'll have to go search for it at B&N.

A book you acquired in some interesting way (gift, serendipity in a used bookstore, prize, etc.):

I've got review copies, tattered bookmooch books, books from when I was little, and a plethora of signed books which I guess is all pretty interesting. My most recent interesting find was a signed copy of Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson at my local B&N. Loved finding that.

The most recent addition to your shelves: 

I received Shelter Me by Alex Mcaulay for review a week or two ago. I don't usually get a ton of books for review and I don't buy very many so my book shelf grows really slowly...I like it that way though. No pressure. :)

A book that’s been with you to the most places: 

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. It's got tons of dog ears, the cover is creased and cracked, and the pages are brown-ish (it's from bookmooch). I've carried it around with me everywhere for the past month and I haven't posted new chapter observation things for a while! It's so bad. I promise I'll get one up within a few days. :P I'm a complete slacker. It's a really good book though.

A bonus book that you want to talk about but doesn’t fit into the other questions:

I don't know! My bookshelf isn't really that interesting! I always see pictures from other bloggers who have these uncontrollable bookshelves and are constantly getting books to review and I don't understand it! I guess I'm sort of boring. I don't have a huge flow of books coming my way, my bookshelf is organized and contained, and my whole book fetish is rather laid back in comparison to other people. I can only stay that way because of my super fantastic local library. I make around two trips there every week. Love it.

And I tag...whoever wants to do it! 

The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs

Raised in a secular family but increasingly interested in the relevance of faith in our modern world, A.J. Jacobs decides to dive in headfirst and attempt to obey the Bible as literally as possible for one full year. He vows to ollow the Ten Commandments. To be fruitful and multiply. To love his neighbor. But also to obey the hundreds of less publicized rules: to avoid wearing clothes made of mixed fibers; to play a ten-string harp; to stone adulterers.

The resulting spiritual journey is at once funny and profound, reverent and irreverent, personal and universal.

(Summary from back of book)

Ooh. Adult book. Scary, I know. Going to a private school, I have to take religion class and I decided to read this book for a project we were required to do because it seemed sort of light-hearted and like it would still have some interesting insights. I ended up really enjoying reading it which is why I thought it would be worth it to write a little review. 

One of the big issues in today's world is religious tolerance. There are hundreds of different religions out there and the only way for peace to be able to become a reality is if people learn to respect and coexist with people from different walks of life. I really liked that in TYOLB, Jacobs didn't take a side. He made his decisions on religion by himself and wasn't influenced by other people. He's also a pretty decent writer. His sarcasm and wit really made the slow-moving parts take on new life. 

While reading I was forced to look at the Bible through new eyes. It's the most well known book in history and there are so many hidden parts of it that few people know about. To see Jacobs not only tell about, but obey those parts was really interesting and completely ridiculous. What's interesting to me is how different sects of religion have their own completely unique ideas on how the Bible should be interpreted. No one group practices complete literalism, everyone picks and chooses what parts they want to follow. It's also interesting that under the broad tree of one religion so many different extremes can exist. 

What really made this book work for me was how there was no bias. A.J. Jacobs was a Jew but he traveled to Christian mega-churches, talked with the Amish, handled snakes, and spoke with some secular New Yorkers. It's like getting a crash course in various religions. 

I would highly recommend this book for anyone. It's definitely an enlightening and fun read. And you can say you read a nonfiction adult book. Whew.

Booking Through Thursday/Saturday #16: Wintery Books & New Year's Resolutions

On Saturday

(Two weeks worth because I'm a slacker and didn't even realize I'd missed a week)

So … any Reading Resolutions? Say, specific books you plan to read? A plan to read more ____? Anything at all?
Name me at least ONE thing you’re looking forward to reading this year!

I'm going to try my very best to read two books a week. Probably not going to happen, but we'll see, right?! A girl can dream...

I'm also going to try to complete the V.C. Andrews Challenge (look at sidebar -->). I've never done a challenge before so it'll definitely be interesting to see how much of a slacker I really am. :)

What I want to know today is … what are the most “wintery” books you can think of? The ones that almost embody Winter?

Wintery books? I don't even know. 

Let it Snow by John Green, Lauren Myracle, and Maureen Johnson is pretty wintry, I'd guess, although I still have to read it. Icing On The Lake by Catherine Clark is pretty wintery; it's set in Minneapolis (where I live) which is definitely a wintery place. 

Really, all of Minnesota is pretty cold and snowy. Now that I think about it, there aren't a ton of books set in winter which should change because I really need to read more warm and fuzzy snowy books right about now...

My First Challenge

I don't even know why I'm doing this. I'm so bad at commitment and following through on things, but you know, why not start trying to change that? :P For 2009, I'm joining one and only one challenge; The V.C. Andrews Movement hosted by Steph and Taren. Eleven V.C. Andrews books in one year sounds rather doable, right? I sincerely hope so because I really don't want to fail. 

Books I'm Going To Read:

The Dollanganger Series 

-Flowers In The Attic
-Petals on the Wind
-If There Be Thorns
-Seeds of Yesterday
-Garden of Shadows

Logan series
-Melody
-Heart Song
-Unfinished Symphony
-Music in the Night
-Olivia 

and one more book yet to be decided. 

I really hope I can do it...