Partial Reading Log: 2007-May 2018

I was looking at my other blog and noticed I have a "Books Just Read" widget in the sidebar. The problem is, I hardly ever remember to update it so I decided to take it off. That's when I discovered that while it only displays the last five books read, when you enter the formatting part, it has a list of ALL the books I've entered. Mostly from back when I used to blog more frequently many moons ago. I thought I'd better copy and paste the list here to have a record of it. I dearly wish I had kept a reading journal of every book I've ever read, but this snap shot is better than nothing...
(Edited to include some other recent reads recorded in a note on my phone and my bookstagram account: well_read_reads.)

"Ordinary Grace" by William Kent Krueger. A lovely, lyrical book.
"War and Peace" by Tolstoy. It has it's moments, but not worth the 60 hours of my life.
"The Way of Kings" by Sanderson. I've been putting it off, but it was so so good. WHY do I have to wait 20 years for the series to be finished?? WHY?!?!?
"Yes, Your Teen is Crazy". I wish every parent with kids at home would read this excellent book.
A Christmas Carol by Dickens. I didn't think I needed to read it and then I loved it.
"The Power of Habit". Lots of great information to chew on. Great read.
"The Collapse of Parenting". Same review as above. So very helpful!
"Devil in the White City" Interesting! But format wise, not my favorite juxtaposition of themes.
"The Fault in our Stars". Great and sad. Lots of swearing.
"Jonathan Strange and Mr. Morel". This book went on and on and I was loving it--until the ending.
"My Father's Dragon" I honestly have no recollection of what I thought of this book
"The Pursuit of Love" and
"Love in a Cold Climate" by Nancy Mitford. Loved these. They have a few adult themes if I remember correctly.
"Ten Percent Happier" Interested in meditation? This is the book for you.
"The First Daughter" SUPER long historical fiction but I found it really interesting.
"The War That Saved My Life" Cute, quick read.
"Sackett" by Louis L'amour. Doug and I have been making our way through the series on Audible. Pretty entertaining but wouldn't be my number one choice.
"Lord of the Flies" 1/17. It frequently surprises me when I really love a classic. It surprised me how terrible I thought this one was. I mean, of all the great books in the world--why is this so frequently required reading in High School?
"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" Took me a minute but then I loved it.
"Some Buried Caesar" by Rex Stoker 8/16. Pass.
"Bolt" by Dick Francis - Always great on Audio for road trips. You run into a sex scene about every third book with him. Be warned.
"Heart of Darkness" by Conrad. Recommended by my friend Wes. Left me feeling like crying for a week and also like I wanted to punch Wes. Studied it a little in a lit class and got a little more from it, and after awhile, have found some redemption. But honestly--I would not recommend it.
"Alas, Babylon" by Pat Frank. Took me a long time to start this one but then I cruised right through and loved it. Get your emergency preparedness stuff in order people! Also made me want to read up on Pat Frank--fascinating life and man.
"Wonder" by RJ Palacio. Thumbs up. But more of a thumb in the middle from most special needs moms. (Thinking of a review I read on "This Little Miggy" blog.)
"The Picture of Dorian Gray" So well known, but not my favorite Wilde. I would pass in favor of...
"The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde. Do yourself a favor read this. So fun!
"An Ideal Husband" by Oscar Wilde. Have you seen the movie with Minnie Driver? So great. Love it.
"Jane Eyre" Loved it and loved the two different Jane Eyre movies I watched before and after reading it.
"Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" LOVED IT

"Dracula" by Bram Stoker. So entertaining! Loved it!

"A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens. 11/16. Surprised by how much I loved it.

"David Copperfield" by Dickens. Definitely one of my favorites. Had a good amount of humor to keep things moving.

"Nicholas Nickleby" by Dickens. Great but the characters weren't as lovable for me.

"Bleak House" by Charles Dickens. I LOVED it. But I recommend watching the BBC miniseries first. Makes it much easier to follow and get into.

"Sanditon" by Jane Austen/Juliette Shapiro. Wish I knew where one finished and the other started.

"The Portrait of a Lady" by Henry James. A raspberry and two thumbs down.

"The Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man"

"The Boys in the Boat" LOVED it! Made Max read it. Great examples of grit.

"The Wright Brothers" by David McCullough. LOVED this one. A lot! But if you are listening on Audible, you will want to speed it up!!

"Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn" and "Pudd'nhead Wilson" by Mark Twain. Loved listening to them on Audible.

"Woman in White" Surprised how much I loved it. First time I've ever read a Classic Thriller

"A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith. Awesome. Two thumbs up and 4/4 Stars! . Highly recommend! Rated PG-13 because it's about life--good, bad, ugly and beautiful.

"The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. An excellent book. Reminds you that the days of rampant racism aren't that far in our past. Excellent writing. Two thumbs up. Rated PG-13 for language (not gratuitous, though) and adult themes. Brief silly nudity.

"War Breaker" by Brandon Sanderson. Another one that hooked me right at the beginning and kept me turning pages and hoping it wouldn't end. Very enjoyable. Rated PG-13.

"Elantris" by Brandon Sanderson. Sci-Fi is NOT my favorite genre, but this book sucked me right in and I loved it. Wish there was a sequel! Rated PG.

"The Lady and The Monk" by Pico Iyer. Really cool perspective on Japan. But the author is a little too smart for me.

"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" LOVED IT! Clean, clever, well written! Rated PG for adult themes. (takes place after WWII) I highly recommend it!

"Goose Girl" by Shannon Hale. Loved it. Read it in one day. Rated G. Great for a day in bed or day at the beach.

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde. I enjoyed it though I admit I skimmed over the hedonistic references. Classic's are NR!

"Passage to India" by E.M. Forster. Unless you're FASCINATED by Anglo/Indian relations, just give this one a pass.

"Host" by Stephenie Meyer. Couldn't put it down! (I don't really love Sci-Fi, but I still liked it!)

"Ethan Frome" and "Summer" by Edith Wharton. Both were in the same volume and both were excellently written though very depressing!!!

"Howard's End" by E.M. Forster - Really good. A little twisted, but really good.

"Pigs in Heaven" by Barbara Kingsolver - Fabulous sequel to "The Bean Trees". Possibly better than the first one!

"The Bean Trees" by Barbara Kingsolver - Excellent, quick read. Rated PG-16

"Blessings" by Anna Quindlen - She's a great writer.

"Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson - Also took awhile to read because it was very deep and requires pondering. Excellent!

"Chesapeake" by James Michener - So good, Sooooooo long! It took a month to read but it was worth it.

"Girl in Hyacinth Blue" by Susan Vreeland. Two thumbs up. Very engaging. Love the premise. Rated PG-13 for brief sexuality.

"The Amateur Marriage" by Anne Tyler. Ten hours of my life I'll never get back.

"Life of Pi" by Yann Martel - Two thumbs up.

"A Town Like Alice" by Neville Shute - Two thumbs up.

The Gift of Pain by Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey - Two thumbs way up!

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - see my review

Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood - Practical Parenting from Birth to Six Years by Jim and Charles Fay - I'll let you know how it works...then give it a rating.

Something by Clive Cussler...can't remember the title. Just silly.

"Ink Spell" by Cornelia Funke - 2nd in a series. Love the idea more than the actual story.

"I Heard That Song Before" by Mary Higgins Clark - Exactly what you'd expect if you've read her before. Good, clean suspenseful entertainment.

"Suspicion of Guilt" by Barbara Parker - Mediocre at best.

"The Knitting Circle" by Ann Hood - A very good--and sad--story. Rated R for gratuitous sex and swearing!

"Eclipse" by Stephenie Meyer - Great but not as great as the first two.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling - Love Love LOVED it! Can't wait to read all 7 again with Max in a few years!

"The Memory Keeper's Daughter" by Kim Edwards - two thumbs down and a raspberry!

"Slay RIde" by Dick Francis - despite his unfortunate name, he's a great author and I always love his books.

"A Gathering of Days, A New England Girl's Journal 1830-32" by Joan W. Blos - cute!

"Vanishing Acts" by Jodi Picoult - Very engaging, but had some R-rated scenes that I hated

"I Am A Mother" by Jane Clayson Johnson - Very affirming and uplifting!

"New Moon" by Stephenie Meyer - Loved it like a high school crush

"Sick of Shadows" by Marion Chesney - This series is silly but entertaining

"Hasty Death" by Marion Chesney

"Half Moon Investigations" by Eoin Colfer

"Mermaid Chair" by Sue Monk Kidd - BOO! HISS!!!! Hated it.

"Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony" by Eoin Colfer - Love this whole series

"Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer - 4/4 stars

"Sidetracked Home Executives" by Pam Young and Peggy Jones

"The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova

"Snobbery and Violence" by Marion Chesney

"The Anatomy of Peace" from The Arbinger Institute

"Mornings On Horseback" by David McCollough

"Sins of the Wolf" by Anne Perry

Book Review: A Few Classics -- Books for Parents

(This post was originally published at ActeGratuit.blogspot.com. I moved it over here for convenience but left the original date the same.)

My neighbor Lisa and I started a "Classics" Book Club.  (She wanted a book club, I wanted "classics" so as to avoid the typical trashy modern book club selections.  I could write a whole post about modern books I've hated and am still mad I read, but I'll spare you.)

Anyway, I want to list a few of the books we've read so far, plus a few I've read on my own.  Here goes:  (Book club ones get *)

"Bleak House" by Charles Dickens:  While still living in Japan, my sister J-Bird sent me The BBC mini-series version of "Bleak House" on DVD.  Doug and I both got really into it and it made me want to read the book.  Which I loved.  I was glad, however, that I watched the mini-series first because it made it much easier to keep track of all the characters.

"The Woman in White" by Wilkie Collins
I love mysteries, I love nineteenth century British literature.  Loved it. LOVED IT!!

*"East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Steinbeck became one of my favorite authors in High School.  (Loved "Winter of Our Discontent".)  But I hadn't read anything of his for a long time.  Super glad Lisa picked "East of Eden".  I loved everything about it.  I don't know why, but Steinbeck is about the only author who can wax poetic and philosophical about landscapes and cityscapes and not bore me.  Although under critical observation the book isn't perfect, I still loved it!
(P.S.  I've never read "Grapes of Wrath" and I did NOT like "Of Mice and Men" Though I should give it another try as an adult.)

*"The Importance of Being Earnest" and "An Ideal Husband" by Oscar Wilde
These are both plays, both short, and both hilarious.  Plus they have great BBC movies to go with them.  Highly recommend.
(Read "The Picture of Dorian Gray" a few years back.  It's also pretty good if you're into exploring the moral implications of Hedonism. )

*"Les Miserables" by Victor Hugo
Here's the deal.  Doug and I saw the play years ago while still living in SLC and liked it.  When the movie came out, we saw it and loved it. After seeing the movie, I read the book and...mostly liked it.  But I didn't LOVE it!
Here's why:  Holy crap Hugo, can we just stick to the plot and forget the super-boring historical asides that go on for pages and pages and pages and don't advance the storyline at all?!?!?!?!?

Honestly, the details about the Paris sewer systems and how sewage should be pumped back into the city to fertilize the crops---were just way too much for me.  Same with the description of the Battle of Waterloo.  And many other long-winded descriptions of Parisian social ills.  TOO MUCH DIGRESSION!  (And coming from me, that's saying something.)

My un-researched theory is that the point of the book was to advance those theories and philosophies to the Parisians--with the story of Jean Valjean being secondary to make the boring stuff go down easier.  Any thoughts from those who've read it?  Am I way off?  Why else would he muck up a perfectly good story line with sewage details?!?

Here was my one other disappointment.  Marius has got to be the most lame, over-rated, self-indulgent wuss in the whole history of literature.  Seriously dude!  Get a job!  Grow up!  Talk to your Grandpa!  Sorry.  I know that's not a popular opinion, but he really bugged me.  If you've ever seen the movie, just stick with that version of him--he's a little more manly.  Oh, and if you haven't read the book and are planning to?  Find a good abridged version!!!

"Vanity Fair" by William Makepeace Thackeray.  I really liked this one.  It isn't the best book ever written but the plot definitely kept me turning pages and I read it pretty fast.  It had sort of an annoying character, but she (finally!) pulled it together in the end.   Looking forward to watching the mini-series.

"A Room with a View" by E.M. Forster.  I watched the 80's film version of this (with Helena Bonham Carter) in high school and loved it but just got around to reading the book.  Turns out, they're very similar.  The dialog in the movie is taken from the book almost word for word. (And it's a short book so they fit most of it in!)  So actually, reading the book didn't add too much like it usually does when you read the book second.
But I still really liked it and I just forced Doug to watch the movie with me so I could see it again.  He did NOT approve of the nudie skinny-dipping pond scene though I tried my hardest to make him see it in a humorous light.   He also thought the movie was very boring and started checking sport scores on the Internet about 20 minutes in.  I thought the movie did have some rather awkward 80's moments, but still feel it holds up for the most part after all these years.  (The movie is unrated so I can't be blamed for watching the (BRIEF) r-rated content.  Or at least, I couldn't be blamed the FIRST time I watched it.  Book is G-rated, btw.)

(P.S.  I read "A Passage to India" by Forster a few years ago and found it pretty darn boring.  Like Les Mis, I think it was meant to be a commentary on a current social problem.  In this case; Anglo-Indian relations.  Not that there is anything wrong with that, but the story line just didn't do it for me.)

So, any thoughts for me?  Agree?  Disagree?  Have you read any classics lately that you highly recommend?!?