Well, I have been getting some work done in my crafty dungeon, but it's been on my December Daily and not enough to post yet, so I thought I would fill you in on some good books I've read (and a stinker to avoid). I always love to give and get books for Christmas, so if you've got any suggestions for me, please fill me in!
First up is "The Book Thief" by Markus Zuzak.
This was an incredible book, in my opinion. I borrowed it from the library in Burns Lake, read about half of it, and then we moved. I couldn't get it out of my head, so I bought my own copy when I had a chance. It's supposed to be for young adults, but don't let that stop you from picking it up - it's very dark, told from Death's point of view, for one thing. It is filled with wonderful characters, good and bad, and even though I knew what would happen at the end (no, I didn't read ahead, but there's some foreshadowing going on there!) I still bawled my eyes out!
I just finished this one:
This was a book club pick for my Burns Lake book club, and it's one of those books that probably everyone would like. The narrator is a dog (hmmm, sensing a pattern here with the odd narrators) whose owner is a young race car driver. The story takes us through the ups and downs of the master's life through the eyes of Enzo, his dog. I definitely would not have chosen to read this for myself, but I'm glad I did because it was a great story. And, while I was searching for a cover photo to post here, photos of Patrick Dempsey in racing gear kept popping up - yes, a movie will be coming out soon! I just hope they don't mess up the story too much.
I promised you a stinker, and here it is:
This book was excruciating! So hard to read, and boring, and sloooooooow!!! I don't know how it won any award, but somebody must have been paid off! It's too bad, because the cover is kind of catchy - Jason almost bought this one for me for our anniversary, and I'm so glad he didn't. Instead, he got this:
which I'm reading now. I know, 6 months after he bought it (he keeps asking, "Are you EVER going to read the book I got you?") but it's a bit more involved, so I don't mind taking my time with it. It's pretty good, though, so far. I'm also reading this one:
Okay, how can you resist a cover like that? Especially if you've always wanted a horse, like me? The reviews are great, so I have high hopes!
Well, that's it for now. I better get on that December Daily, I'm starting to stress out over it, and nobody likes a stressed out Roxy, haha!
I almost didn't read this book because of the main character's name, Katniss. It just sounds too much like "Cat Piss" for my liking, and I didn't think I could get past that. It's also a young adult book, and I don't like to think of myself as "juvenile", but I'd heard good things so I decided to give it a go. I was pleasantly surprised! It's non-stop action and excitement, and because it's told in the first person, her name is hardly ever mentioned! I couldn't wait to get my hands on the next two in the series, and when I saw them on the shelf at the library, I snapped them up right away (and put down "Room" again) and finished them in a week or so.
A bit of a disappointment for me, but still good. It's just a bit slower than the first two. Anyway, there will be a "Hunger Games" movie, and I can't wait to see it in theatres! Should give "Twilight" a run for its money!
Pretty creepy looking, eh? I'm not sure if I'm totally into the paranormal genre, but I am enjoying this book for the moment. It's a real whodunnit, with fast pacing and a lot of suspense. I'll let you know if it's a winner!
This book was just tremendous! I loved it, and I never would have chosen it on my own: weird title, and it's basically a compilation of letters, which I thought would be annoying, but for some reason worked really well. This is a definite must-read!!!
I don't mind admitting that I frequently choose books by their cover. When I picked up City of Bones last week, I didn't realize the target audience is teen girls, and I normally don't even go for urban fantasies, but for whatever reason, I bought it. After the first few pages, I realized it was probably going to be something like Twilight, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but again, not really what I was expecting. Well, I whipped through it in a couple of days, then bought City of Ashes and whipped through that one (it was even better!) and now I can't wait to get my hands on City of Glass. These books are not classic literature by any means, but are still a lot of fun, even if you're not into demons, vampires and werewolves.
I don't really like the cover of this book, so I must've chosen it based on the title. I mean, this is so "me" right now: the main character is trying to fit in pre-pregnancy jeans, not sure if she wants to go back to work after mat leave, etc. But she's also really annoying. She whines about not having enought time to spend with her baby daughter, and yet she goes out binge-drinking with her girlfriends all the time. Ya can't have your cake and eat it too, Missy! Her misguided priorities and many, many typos made this one a pass for me. 
