Enter your April reviews here!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
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Posted by 1morechapter at 4/30/2008 01:05:00 PM 5 comments
Labels: reviews
Book Review: 1776
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
I heard so many things about this book, and I was really looking forward to reading it. So here's my take.
Pros:
The opening. Every other Revolutionary War book starts with the Americans. This one started with the British. There was some great stuff in there I'd never read before, and I really enjoyed the reminder that this was a war with TWO sides.
The information. Lots of good stuff in there, thoroughly researched.
Cons:
A little too much information. Get to the action already!
The layout. There were 2 or 3 sections of pictures and maps and that was it.
No maps. Maybe it's just me, but I have trouble following the action of a battle. A map right where the battle is being described is much more helpful than if I have to turn back to look at it. There actually were 2 maps, both drawn at the time and almost impossible to read. Not helpful.
In summary, I compared this with Washington's Crossing which I read this year and I found 1776 lacking. I wasn't as motivated to pick it up and keep reading. Still, I'm glad I read it. But if you wanted to read a book on the subject, I would recommend Washington's Crossing and not this one.
Posted by Cindy B at 4/29/2008 11:44:00 AM 0 comments
Labels: 1776, book review
Paula's 8/8/8
Hi, my name is Paula. I am still working on my creating my list, it is subject to change.
Here is my 8/8/8 list: Books in blue are completed. Happy Reading!
ClassicsRobinson Crusoe
Science Fiction/Fantasy
- The Hobbit
- Journey to the Center of the Earth
- 20,000 leagues under the Sea
- The Time Machine
- Raising Dragons
- The Candlestone
- A Wrinkle in Time
- Ender's Game
Youth Fiction
- The Great Brain
- Caddie Woodlawn
- Stormbreaker
- Point Break
- Skeleton Key
- Wind in the Willows
Non-fiction
- Plot & Structure
- The Creative Call
- Man's Search for Meaning
- The Unheard Cry of Meaning
- Latin Centered Curriculum
- Write Great Fiction - Revision & Self Editing
- Destination Moon - Jim Irwin
Historical Fiction
Christian
- Case for the Creator - Student Edition
- Case for Faith - Student Edition
- Case for Christ - Student Edition
- Pilgrim's Progress
Books begging to be read
Books that call to me throughout the year
- Common Sense - Thomas Paine
Posted by Paula at 8:29 AM 0 comments
Posted by Paula at 4/29/2008 09:13:00 AM 0 comments
CoversGirl's List
Saturday, April 19, 2008
I didnt originally intend to sign up for this challenge, as I never know in advance what books Ill get to read each year; it all depends on the availability at the BookFest and the library. But then it occurred to me that I could put my own spin on it: instead of a list of books I must read, I could compose a list of books I will read if at all possible and let serendipity take care of the rest. If I can track them down, great; if I cant, it doesnt matter. A pressure-free challenge with the added fun of testing fate!
1. The Collections
Books composed of short stories
Cat o Nine Tales - Jeffrey Archer
The Ladies of Grace Adieu - Susanna Clarke
Ghost Stories - Charles Dickens
In a Glass Darkly - J. Sheridan le Fanu
Lifes Little Ironies - Thomas Hardy
Fragile Things - Neil Gaiman
Smoke and Mirrors - Neil Gaiman
Waifs and Strays - Charles de Lint
2. Eighteen Hundred and Something
Books that have withstood the test of time
Shirley - Charlotte Brontë
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
She - H. Rider Haggard
Return of the Native - Thomas Hardy
The Aspern Papers - Henry James
Indiana - George Sand
The Way We Live Now - Anthony Trollope
3. A Little Light Reading
Books that are fun to read
Welcome to Temptation - Jennifer Crusie
The Big Over-Easy - Jasper Fforde
Lola Carlyle Reveals All - Rachel Gibson
Under the Greenwood Tree - Thomas Hardy
Austenland - Shannon Hale
Three Men in a Boat - Jerome K. Jerome
The Man with Two Left Feet - P. G. Wodehouse
The Trials of Tiffany Trott - Isabel Wolff
4. Next, Please
Books that are next in a series or sequence
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish - Douglas Adams
Seeing Redd - Frank Beddor
The Angel of Darkness - Caleb Carr
Venus in Copper- Lindsay Davis
Cat in a Midnight Choir - Carole Nelson Douglas
Voyager - Diana Gabaldon
Rosa and the Veil of Gold - Kim Wilkins
To Say Nothing of the Dog - Connie Willis
5. The Rest of the World
Books set in the past of a country outside Britain
Shogun - James Clavell (1600s Japan)
Cocaine Blues - Kerry Greenwood (1900s Australia)
Imperium - Robert Harris (100s BC Rome)
Jerusalem - Cecelia Holland (1100s and guess where?)
Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry (1800s America)
The Honest Courtesan - Margaret Rosenthal (1500s Italy)
Perfume - Patrick Süskind (1700s France)
The Book Thief - Markus Zusak (WW2 Germany)
6. Screen First, Page Second
Books I've seen an adaptation of
Bleak House - Charles Dickens
A Room with a View - E. M. Forster
The Quiet American - Graham Greene
Runaway Jury - John Grisham
Seabiscuit - Laura Hillenbrand
Practical Magic - Alice Hoffman
The Cider House Rules - John Irving
Fingersmith - Sarah Waters
7. Things that Go Bump in the Night
Books that are mysterious, spooky, or just plain weird
Every Dead Thing - John Connolly
Neuromancer - William Gibson
The Woman in Black - Susan Hill
The Boys from Brazil - Ira Levin
Titus Groan - Mervyn Peake
Gormenghast - Mervyn Peake
Titus Alone - Mervyn Peake
The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield
8. We Meet at Last
Books I've been wanting to read for ages
Infidel - Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Like Water for Chocolate - Laura Esquivel
The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Euginedes
The Crimson Petal and the White- Michel Faber
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon
Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
Northern Lights (a.k.a The Golden Compass) - Philip Pullman
The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Posted by Amat Libris at 4/19/2008 12:12:00 AM 2 comments
Labels: 1800s, fun, Historical fiction, In a series, Movies, short story collections, speculative fiction, wanted
Cindy B's 888
Monday, April 7, 2008
I'm making this even more difficult on myself by trying to get it done by 8/8/08 - or August 8th. I'm almost halfway there, and if I can just avoid getting distracted by new and more fabulous books, I'll be just fine. So here are my categories:
1. Books I gathering dust - ones I've had for more than a year and haven't read. 3/8
1. The Golden Goblet - done
2. Goodbye to Poplarhaven - written by one of my professors at BYU - currently reading
3. Fear Nothing - tbr
4. A Devilish Dilemma - tbr
5. The Bourne Identity - tbr
6. Diary of a Nobody - done
7. Eminent Victorians - tbr
8. The Girl with a Secret - done
2. Science/History books 7/8
1. The Book of Man - This was an easy to read account of the Human Genome Project. - done
2. Weighing the soul - About scientific discoveries that caused controversy. - done
3. A Brief History of Time - tbr
4. Chaos: making a New Science - done
5. Women Astronomers: Reaching for the Stars - done
6. Krakatoa:The Day the World Exploded - done
7. The 13th Element - done
8. The Signers - done!
3. Teen/kids books 4/8
1. Ark Angel - tbr
2. Snakehead - tbr
3. The Ruins of Gorlan - tbr
4. The Sisters Grimm: Unusual Suspects - done
5. The King's Swift Rider - tbr
6. The Thief of Always - done
7. Stone Fox - done
8. The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents - done
4. Books about faith and religion 4/8
1. Just as I am by Virginia Smith - funny story (but not funny enough for list 8, as I didn't actually laugh out loud) of a wild child's baptism into Christianity. - done
2. Way to Be! - tbr
3. Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism - done
4. Sugar House Hill - done
5. Inspiring Experiences that Build Faith - done
6. Amazing Love - currently reading
7. not sure yet!
8. not sure yet!
5. Books with little or no redeeming value 7/8
1. Hitched by Carol Higgins Clark - fun Valentine's read. - done
2. The Case of the Baker Street Irregulars by Anthony Boucher - done
3. Around the Rugged Rock by Elizabeth Cadell - done
4. The Lexicon of Stupidity - done-- funny!
5. Down Under by Patricia Wentworth - so done!
6. Five Rings, Six Crises etc. - a book of lists - done
7. World's Worsts - another book of lists - done
8.
6. Recommended by others 5/8
1. 1776 - tbr
2. The Historian - done! (I gave up)
3. The Good Husband of Zebra Drive - tbr
4. Deliver Us From Normal - done
5. Fablehaven - done
6. The Master of Ballantrae - done!
7. The Zookeeper's Wife - tbr
8. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time - done
7. Tried and true - books I am rereading 8/8
1. Charmed Life - all done!
2. The Mysterious Commission - done
3. Kaleidoscope by Dorothy Gilman- still pretty good, but not great. - done
4. Dead Men Don't Ski - done
5. Murder a la Mode - done
6. Death on the Agenda - done
7. Death and the Dutch Uncle - done
8. Black Widower - done
8. Books that made me laugh out loud 5/8
1. Murder With Peacocks - done
2. For Time and All Absurdity - done
3. Bachelors Anonymous - done
4. Leaven of Malice (audio) - done
5. Moving Pictures - done
6.
7.
8.
Posted by Cindy B at 4/07/2008 02:25:00 PM 0 comments
I saw the list of categories on the right. How do I add my categories to those?
So excited to sign up!
Posted by Cindy B at 4/05/2008 05:11:00 PM 2 comments
Labels: categories