The Handmaid's Take by Margaret Atwood

I just finished reading The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood ... FREAKY! It's definitely one of those books that creeps you out and you can't tell if you liked it or not. There were some parts that I really didn't love and almost put it down but they were short so I persevered. I also have an aversion to not finishing a book once it's started, it's kind of OCD. At the end, the most concrete thing I can say ... it's definitely interesting.

The Hunger Games

Wow!  This is the best book I've read in a long time!!  It's one of those can't put it down, stay up super late, house is in shambles type of book.  Seriously, if you decide to read it make sure you have a few days where you don't have anything pressing to get done.  It's been a long time since I've read such a literal page-turner.  Wow--that's just about all I can say!

It's a young adult novel, set in the future.  Kind of sci-fi, like The Giver, but with a whole lot of action.  Think Gladiator and Survivor.  Katniss, the main character, finds herself in the annual Hunger Games, hosted by the Capital to remind the people who's in charge.  Twenty-four teens have to fight it out to the death in a huge arena.  But that description doesn't do it justice!  Just read it and you'll understand!

A Must Read

The Soloist by Steve Lopez. True story.

I finished this a little bit ago and absolutely loved it from page one to the last word.

Pretty amazing story that unfolds when an L.A. Times columnist runs into a homeless schizophrenic. Makes you think, touches your heart.

I suggest finishing it by April 24, so you can go see the movie starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr.

You're sure to love it.

Why I Love Vacation

Mark and I spent a week in Cozumel earlier this month. It was a great vacation! I spent the whole week lying around on the beach reading fun vacation books and napping. (I am very grateful to the inventor of SPF 70 sunscreen) This is what I read:

Phantom Prey by John Sandford



This is the 18th(!) book in John Sandford's Prey series. I am not usually a fan of the cop/mystery genre, but I make an exception for John Sandford. He is a former Pulitzer prize winning journalist turned novelist. He's a good writer and his books are always a quick and enthralling read. Lucas Davenport is a former Minneapolis homicide cop who has risen up in the political ranks, but still helps solve crimes once in a while. When the daughter of a prominent family disappears, he is enlisted to help figure out what happened, learning a lot about the Goth community in the investigation. I have read these books for years, but they became even more fun for me after I moved to Minnesota and was able to recognize the places in the stories.

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

This is Aravind Adiga's first novel, which won a Man Booker prize. The author is an internationally-educated Indian who moved back home to Mumbai to work as a journalist. This is the story of Balram, a Bangalore entrepreneur, who has risen from a very poor, rural family. He leaves home to become the driver for a wealthy family, and eventually becomes a business owner, but he has a secret. I liked this book. It was a quick read which shows how class and caste are still important in India.

Hit Parade by Lawrence Block

This is the third book in Lawrence Block's "Hit Man" series. Keller is a hit man with some idiosyncrasies (for a hit man), like dog ownership, an agent named Dot who loves iced tea, and philately. This book delves into the dark underbelly of the stamp collecting world... Very entertaining, but start with the first book, "Hit Man."

The Faithful Spy by Alex Berenson

John Sandford (writer of Phantom Prey) personally recommended this book to Mark at a book signing in Minneapolis. Alex Berenson's won an Edgar award for best first novel for this book. He is a journalist for the New York Times. The book is about John Wells, the only CIA agent to infiltrate Al Quaeda. He comes back to the US for the first time in ten years "on assignment" from Osama bin Laden. I don't want to give away the end, but he either saves America or fails miserably. You'll have to read it to find out! It's a great vacation/airplane read, quick, easy, and current. I'm actually reading the second book now, called "The Ghost War."

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Do you feel like you have something in your life you were "called" to do or be? Something that really sparks a desire? For some people it's being a mother, for others a doctor or maybe politics. For me it was the Middle East. I have a strange pull to that region - their culture, art and language. And it's not to say that I didn't ever want to be a mother. I know I was called for that too but not in the same way. I think for some people they draw a line to the place they want to end up and make a straight line towards it, they don't waiver in their desires and end up exactly where they want to be without a lot of veerings off their course. That's not to say that the course was hard but they were determined.

This is the kind of rambling that The Alchemist has me doing in my mind. It is a thought provoking kind of book. I don't think it ends up drawing necessarily the exact same conclusion about life as I do, especially considering some things don't jive with the gospel, but it's really interesting nonetheless. It really got me thinking about maybe something else I should be striving towards, like maybe I'm a little off my path. If anything it got me considering how much I want to get back to school and finish my degree. I would love to know what you think about this book. This one would be a great one to discuss! Let me know if you read it.

Honorable Mentions ...

I have been reading A LOT lately. That's the one good thing about recuperating from surgery ... you don't have to feel guilty about spending too much time on the couch with a book in your hands.

If you haven't read Mrs. Pollifax you really should! I love to read one of these in between a more difficult book because they are so easy and entertaining. I call them Jessica Fletcher from Murder, She Wrote meets James Bond. They are about a woman who finds herself widowed, bored with garden clubs, and wanting to try something she always thought she would be good at ... being a spy. So she goes to the CIA and applies for a job. Start with "The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax".

I also really like the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich. They are about a mostly average kind of woman who finds herself out of a job and broke. She turns to her cousin to give her a job ... as a bounty hunter. She thinks it might be easy money but always ends up over her head. They are definitely not a book you would find at Deseret Book, I would say PG-13 kind of material, so if you don't like a good sexual inuendo now and again then they're not for you. But I really find then entertaining and has a woman as the protagonist to boot.

"Fancy Pants" by Cathie Marie Hake ... started off really cute. Turned into predictable but OK. Ended with disjointed and not interesting at all.

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

I've mentioned before that I love the Brother's Grimm Fairy Tales ... well this is a take on one of a lesser known of their stories. I loved it! There's something so true about the Brother's Grimm ... all the stories have a moral and justice prevails. They don't always have a happy ending but they always teach a lesson. AND they make is so easy to believe in magic and true love. Shannon Hale is a relatively new author and she takes this old story and creates and embelishes it into a new and entertaining one without forgetting the charm of the old one.

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

"A fantastic bus ride from hell to heaven - a round trip for some but not for others."

This is a must read for sure. I really enjoyed this book. It's 130 pages of thought provoking situations and analogies. You find yourself trying to decide where you fit in and what you would think and do if it were you that had been on this bus ride. Lewis is most recognized for his Christian theology and this book is no different. If you liked The Screwtape Letters than you will also enjoy this one as well. I would love to have other people read it ... I think it would prove to be a great dicussion!

The Giver

I read this one when I was younger--like in junior high or high school.  I couldn't remember a thing about it, except that it was good.  So I picked it up at the library this week and read the whole thing in less than a day.  It's short and easy to read, but very interesting and thought-provoking.  The thing that is most fascinating to me is that it's written for a young audience, yet is deep enough for adults to enjoy.  It makes you consider things like happiness, perfection, and choices.  Definitely a must-read, over and over again.

Step-Ball-Change

So the last time I was at the library I couldn't think of a single book that was on my to-read list.  And, not wanting to leave the library without a book, I decided to get another book by Jeanne Ray.  I liked Eat Cake a lot, so I figured I couldn't go wrong with another of her books.  Well, I think that Step-Ball-Change was even more funny than Eat Cake.  By page 54 I had already laughed out loud 4 times.  My husband, who was sitting next to me, was impressed that I novel could be that funny.  I was too!  Again, nothing to meditate on, but it was fun and happy and the dialogue between characters is what will get you going--so smart and witty!

What are you reading?

Let's make a list of what everyone is currently reading ...

Eat Cake

I finished reading this book just before the Christmas break, and loved it.  It's short, funny and well-written, by Jeanne Ray.  This isn't the kind of book that would provoke deep thoughts or intellectual conversations; it's just a fun read that makes you feel happy.  So if you're in the mood for something light that will make you chuckle to yourself, then give it a try!  Plus, it'll have you dreaming of cake.  :)

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Well, The Gilead is on backorder at the library so I put a hold on it and checked out The Alchemist. It sounds interesting. This is the exerpt from Wikipedia.

The Alchemist (Portuguese: O Alquimista) is a bestseller novel that is the most famous work of author Paulo Coelho. It is a symbolic story that urges its readers to follow their dreams.
Originally published in Greece in 1988,[1] The Alchemist has been translated into 61 languages, a Guinness world record for the book translated in most languages.[citation needed] It has sold more than 65 million copies in more than 150 countries, becoming one of the best-selling books in history.

Santiago, a boy living in Andalusia, leads a common life of travel through his trade of shepherding and entertains thoughts of marrying a merchant's daughter. One day he has a dream in which a child tells him to go to the Egyptian pyramids, a destination that will apparently lead to treasure. He consults a gypsy to interpret his dream, who simply tells him to go to the Pyramids to find the loot and asks for a tenth of his future treasure instead of a fee for her service. He becomes discouraged by this advice, yet she assures him that the wisest men would agree with the simplicity of this special case. However Santiago dismisses the dream and plans to continue on with his daily life, while he sits to read a book an old man strikes up conversation with him. The old man tells him the book is a troublesome one and later reveals himself to be Melchizedek, the King of Salem. He tells Santiago to continue on his quest and where to find the treasure for 1/10 of his herd. Santiago agrees and proceeds to sell his sheep and buy a ticket to Tanger, departing with the gift of Urim and Thummim from the King.
In Tangier, Santiago is tricked by a thief and loses his money and posessions. Discouraged, he curses his fate, however looking within his bag he sees Urim and Thummim and tries a simple test with them seeing if they can really help him make decisions, which turns out to be true. This reminds him of the old king and Santiago finds newfound resolve to continue his quest. Santiago also goes to the Sahara Desert, and falls in love.
When Santiago finally reaches the Pyramids, he is attacked and has to admit that he is searching for a treasure there. One of them laughs and reveals that he once had a dream about finding treasure in the very church where Santiago first had the dream. Santiago then returns to the church and finds the treasure, thus realizing his dream.

The Magician by Michael Scott

The Magician is the sequel to The Alchemist, the first in the series of young adult science fictions books. The third book, The Sorceress is coming out around May 2009. It was a super fun book, a quick and entertaining read. If you like science fiction kind of stuff (Stephanie Meyer without the romance and Lord of the Rings in the 21st century) then you will like these easy books. I would highly recommend them especially to teenagers and pre-teens. The book is basically filled with magical creatures and people with magic powers and immortal life. There are no bad words, sexual innuendos and even the violence isn't very graphic and gory. I listened to the first book on mp3 while I was excercising and it kept me going and finished the second book in a weekend. Very fun.

What should we read NEXT??!!!

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

I love children's books that purport to have disguised an important and moral-based theme into an otherwise charming story. The movie came out and I thought nothing of it until a couple of people remarked that the children's book was actually quite intelligently written with good lessons for children and adults alike.

I have to say, the messages did seem quite mature for the audience they were intended for but, at the same time, unfortunately appropriate for quite a few children I know; including themes regarding betrayal and parental abandonment.

DiCamillo also has a very interesting style of writing which was very entertaining. The book was written as if a narrator was telling you a story and sometimes talks directly to the reader. I also heard it compared to the Grimm's Fairy Tales which I absolutely love. She also uses large words which I think would be so great for kids to get interested in developing vocabulary.

I think this is a great book for kids as well as adults. It's a quick, fun read with a good moral ... We aren't always going to get what we want out of life but it's important also to have dreams, let's just make sure they're realistic and attainable.

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

This is the second Barbara Kingsolver book I have read. The first was The Poisonwood Bible and I LOVED IT! It was a really great story; interesting and intriguing. This one was different, I still liked the book but I didn't LOVE it. The story was a bit dull. I guess I find myself reading something in order to escape for a time into a life more compelling than my own. I found myself hoping that the character in this book would end up having more of an adventure, it left me a bit let down.

This story is about a young girl, Taylor, who leaves home in lieu of staying in her "go nowhere" town where basically her only option is getting pregnant and being a young mom. She wants something better / more for herself. You find yourself rooting for her - go get 'em, make something big of yourself. Instead she ends up in another "go nowhere" town and, surprise, being a young mom. I think she realizes that this is the "something big" she was destined to do. It's not earth-shattering or monumental - except to herself and her "daughter". The side story is interesting but there wasn't enough details to be exciting. All it really does is make me feel like Taylor is just a bit selfish and self centered. The end of the book is beautiful and touching, however, and I feel she did a great job at resolving the conflicts.

Kingsolver has a way of making me feel uneducated about social and political issues of different cultures, like I'm not just isolated but a bit ignorant regarding societal calamities around the world. The Poisonwood Bible made me feel interested in learning more about African culture and history whereas The Bean Tree just made me feel a bit depressed and helpless. It's almost as if she's saying to her readers - be cognizant of the world and people around you, but in the end there's not much you can do to change things. I know the optimistic view of this conclusion, and maybe your opinion of the moral of the story, would be to say that one can't change the world but just a few of the lives of those in it.

In the end, I would recommend the book just not highly. Her style of writing is almost lyrical and so it is entertaining.

About My Bookshelf

I read quite a bit. I have friends who are also avid readers. To these friends I invite you to read along with me and share your comments and reactions as well. It would be great to use this site to recommend books, and even movies, to each other. Want to be listed as a contributor? Just let me know and we can all add our own reviews - an online book club!