Abby's Reading Log (started 2009)

[AbielleRose]

I've only made it through chapter 2 so far but tonight I finally have time to dig into it and hopefully pass the halfway mark.

 

Knowing your taste in books I think this would be right up your alley, Giulia! It is so wonderfully written and the story is so believeable.

[sirinrob]

I'll echo Abby's sentiments Giuila, This is well written and the story is absorbing. The history of Giordanion Bruno till the time he leaves England is broadly followed. He was an interesting character and that comes through loud and clear.

[AbielleRose]

Just got home from Barnes and Noble and managed to bring half the store with me. Just kidding, but I did manage to invest in a few new books.

 

Druid Magic by Maya Magee Sutton

Through the Faerie Glass by Keny Klein

Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken

National Geographic Traveler Great Britian

 

and then I also picked up a map of London and a new Anime flowers journal

 

The only one that is a novel of those 4 books is Brightly Woven. The Faerie and Druid one are for some 'research'. I'm really excited to start digging into the Druid Magic book as I've always been facinated with with ancient magic and rituals.

[AbielleRose]

While in Barnes and Noble today I spent a very good chunk of time sitting on the floor in front of the manga section reading the first few pages in a few different works. The one that stood out to me as something I could possibly get into was Death Note. I ended up not buying it as I haven't fully decided if I could get used to the whole backwards book/graphic novelness of it all, but the more I think about it the more I would like to try it. The whole concept of good vs evil and the story of the Death Note has really captured me so I do think I will go back a little later and pick up the first volume. Hopefully I can get past the new structure (or I should say new to ME) and enjoy the story.

 

Haven't read much of Heresy today as I've been out and about but hopefully I'll finish it tonight so I can move on to another book I've been itching to open and get lost in.

[AbielleRose]

Angel of Mercy- Lurlene McDaniel

 

Synopsis:

Heather Barlow has always been an idealist and now that she’s finished high school, she’s ready to make a difference in the world. After graduation, she joins a mission group on a hospital mercy ship sailing to Africa. Once she’s left the ship on the Kenyan coast and is stationed at a hospital in Uganda, however, Heather is not really prepared to face the disease, famine, and misery she encounters.

 

Ian McCollum is also among the medical staff in Uganda. Ian has left his native Scotland to help those threatened by a world of indifference. When Heather meets Ian, she finds her heart quickens and she’s happy to be alive. But as the weeks pass, Heather finds her idealism vanishing amid the overcrowded refugee camps and orphanages; misery is everywhere. Only Ian can see beyond the horror and help Heather understand that the world can be changed by saving those in need, one by one.

 

I've read this book probably well over 30 times and every time I do it touches me in a new way. Heather's character is one of my favorite 'friends' to visit in the literary world because I see a lot of myself in her idealistic thinking. The African children who Heather interacts with in the book are such beautiful little souls who are able to paint a picture of life in Africa as it is for several people in real life today.

 

It is a heartbreaking story, one that never fails to make me cry with the descriptions of the pain and suffering that so many people endure just to try and save the lives of those they love in regions where death is as common as a cold. Mercy Ships, the organization Heather and the other missionaries work through in the story, is a real organization and one that is very active in regions all over the world today.

 

Since I'm bias and hold it very close to my heart I give this book a 10/10. It is directed towards a YA audience, but I really think anyone willing to open their soul to this world would find it powerful and moving on several different levels.

[AbielleRose]

I just got done with a tiny shopping trip to Barnes and Noble.com and managed to come away with only 1 book (I had 4 in my cart but deleted 3 after pulling up the Excel spreadsheet list of my TBR pile ) The one I did end up buying is Burned by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast. I've loved the House of Night series from the very beginning and the latest installment sounds (from what I have heard by those who have read it so far) like it won't disappoint. The only hesitation I had about buying it is that now it is the only book in the whole series I actually own. I HATE owning books that are a part of a series without owninging all the other ones in that same format (Hardcover/paperback. Those cannot be mixed and matched.)

 

Yesterday at work I was packing up my desk because on Monday I'm moving to a new desk/nook/cubicle thingy. While doing so my boss came over and was chatting and helping me organize my boxes. She noticed the Excel spreadsheet that I had emailed to my work email and copied onto my desktop of my TBR Pile and asked what that was. I showed her my list and system for keeping track of books I own and read/own and haven't read/don't own and have read/don't own and want to get my hands on. She was very impressed and now plans on using my system to make one for herself! In terms of taste we have a lot of the same styles and likes which is pretty cool. I keep having to re-start my breaks because I'll pull out a book at my desk and start reading and she'll come over and start discussing it (any talk with managers we are allowed to count as 'meeting' time, even personal discussions). Its kind of funny to sit around and talk about books for 20 minutes and then go on break as soon as she leaves so that I can read.

 

Off to update the list as I still haven't done so from my last shopping extravaganza trip.

 

Edit: Never mind the editing part- just realized that my TBR Excel list was on my other computer and I don't think the mini has Excel. *Sigh* Guess I'll have to import it to a Word doc somehow on Monday.

Edited May 1, 2010 by CaliLily

[chesilbeach]

I was going to try and wait and get Burned from the library, but I'm going near a book shop today, and don't know if I'll be able to resist!

[AbielleRose]

Give in to the temptation! It really does look like the best book of the series so far. Should be interesting to see how the Casts execute it. Just the synopsis alone is very intense to read. If I remember right, I think they are planning to write something like 15+ books for the House of Night series.

[Peacefield]

So you're telling me I need to add these Cast books to my wishlist as well, Cali? Well all right, you've forced me!

 

Would you be willing to share this Excel idea? Was it online that you found it or did you make it up yourself? I'd love to do something like that.

[AbielleRose]

Yes, you absolutely positively NEED to add these to your list and start reading them ASAP! I'll be checking in with you to make sure you've followed my orders reccommendation.

 

Sure It really isn't much, but its nice to be able to pull something up. I like Goodreads but to be honest, nothing beats a good old fashioned alphabetical list.

 

I have it set up like this:

 

Title / Author / Year published / Part of a series (y/n) / Owned (y/n) / My overall rating.

 

Then I have the books all listed alphabetically (I just insert a new cell when I need to add a new book, its very easy) and color coordinated according to if I've read them or if they are on my wish list. Green means I've read it, red means I haven't. Once I read the book I just go in and fill in all the empty fields and change the color. I really should seperate it into 2 lists, one for read and one for my TBR specificially, but I hate having to go in and delete the cells and all that stuff so I just let it run and call it a TBR list anyway.

 

Something I've been trying to work on a bit more recently is my reviewing of books. I'm terrible at it, not because I don't want to discuss them, but because I just can't seem to put into words how they make me feel. So many touch my soul and it almost feels like I'm 'kissing and tellling' if that makes any sense. Once I get my list over to this computer I plan to add a new section for whether I've reviewed the book or not so that I can start working on reviews and try to improve on that little area of bookworminess.

[Peacefield]

Okay then! I'm adding the Cast books and will take a look next time I hit 1/2 Price Books.

 

Thanks for the info on your spreadsheet! I love making those things and have always thought about doing one for books but never knew what info to include.

 

I know what you mean about reviews. I struggle each time I post one when I finish a book because I just don't think I put thoughts into words very well.

[AbielleRose]

I'm excited to hear your thoughts when you've read them. They are so different from anything else on the market, very unique for a YA series.

 

You should make one. Its pretty cool to be able to just pull up the list and see all the books you've read and want to read. I don't know about you but sometimes I forget if I've read a certian book or just really wanted to.

 

It almost seems like writing a bad review is much easier than writing a good one. I only have issues with writing a review if I actually enjoyed the book. IDK...weird... Hopefully its one of those things that can be learned.

[lexiepiper]

I finished Burned this morning and thought it was really good! I'm so interested to see where the series is going to go because like you I've heard it's going to be a long one, I also heard somewhere that there's going to be a spin off series just about Stevie Rae and the red fledglings, not sure how true that is though

[AbielleRose]

Ooh! I can't wait to read your review (though I want to read it myself beforehand ). Should be coming in the mail either today or tomorrow.

 

P.C. Cast is an amazing fantasy writer. Have you ever read any of her other work? Juding from that I'm sure the series as a completed whole will not disappoint. I don't know if I would read a series about the red fledgelings, to be honest. I've never been a huge fan of any of them to the point where I would miss them in the storyline (well, except for Stevie Rae, of course.)

[AbielleRose]

I picked up a few books tonight while hanging out at Barnes and Noble. Most were on the clearance table so I only paid a total of $50.00 for all 9 of them

 

The ones being added to Mount TBR are:

 

A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire

Selected Poems by William Blake

Irish Fairy Tales by James Stephenson

Japanese Death Poems from Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich

Secrets of Mary Magdalene the Untold Story of History's Most Misunderstood Woman by Dan Burstein and Arne J De Keijzer

Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson and

Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein

 

I'm particularly excited to get into the Japanese Death Poems and The Forest of Hands.

[Kylie]

Nice haul!

[AbielleRose]

Thanks Kylie Have to love days when you make it out of a store with a bag of books like that.

 

I started reading the Japenese Death Poems last night and all I have to say is 'wow'. They are so intense and in so few words are able to evoke emotion that some writers can never tap in their 800 page monsters.

 

The one that stood out to me the most was:

 

Inhale, exhale

Forward, back

Living, dying;

Arrows, let flown each to each

Meet midway and slice

The void in aimless flight-

Thus I return to the sorce.

 

Yeah, I know, its a bit morbid that I'm reading death poetry... but the emotion in these words is so alive. I can't help but find it a bit ironic that so many of these poems have made me feel alive just by reading them.

[lexiepiper]

Woohoo The Forest Of Hands & Teeth is awesome! There's also a sequel called The Dead-Tossed Waves, but I believe that's only out in hardback atm

[AbielleRose]

I think I'm going to take that one with me on the plane to London. Its going to be a 25 hour trip with airport waiting time so plenty of reading will ensue! .

 

Sorry for not commenting, but I've been stalking your book thread and blog lately. We have a lot of the same taste in books I can't wait to pull a few more from your list to test out, though I have to say I hated Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side. It felt so rushed to me. The story had potential, but the book just felt like what was there was some kind of Cliff's notes condenced version of a bigger story, IMO.

 

No idea why I just put that here

[lexiepiper]

Haha, I enjoyed the main story, but the ending did happen way too quickly, she definitely could have cut back a bit of the 'long wait' and added a bit more to the ending. There's more chapters on the authors website though,

of their wedding

, which expands a bit more on the end of the book which I felt helped.

[AbielleRose]

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

By Gregory Maguire

 

 

Before I go into my review, I just wanted to comment on the particular cover above that I chose when purchacing this book. That cover you see is the cover of the copy I own and is very unique from the cartoon style and the even better known green, black and white Broadway poster covers. This edition stood out to me because of Elphaba's face and stance. It captured her for the solitary, tortured soul she is. Its one of those rare book covers that I can stare at for a long time and see the story playing out around her in my mind.

 

Synopsis:

An astonishingly rich re-creation of the land of Oz, this book retells the story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, who wasn't so wicked after all. Taking readers past the yellow brick road and into a phantasmagoric world rich with imagination and allegory, Wicked just might change the reputation of one of the most sinister characters in literature.

 

This is the second time I've actually read Wicked. The first time around the story actually put me off quite a bit. I had expected more of a tale like that of The Wizard of Oz, somewhat simple and fairytale like. Growing up in the city where Frank L. Baum lived, where I actually grew up walking along a real yellow brick road with statues of Dorothy, The Scarcrow, The Tin Man, and the Lion (and of course Toto ) I tend to be very protective of the world of Oz. It was a huge part of my childhood not to be. The first time reading Wicked I felt like Maguire, in a way, was messing with fire and trying to change the character of The Wicked Witch of the West. She is sinister, selfish and evil, how dare he take her and give her a soul and a concince? How dare he make us actually sympathizewith THE most well known villian of our time?

 

For those who thought as I did the first time around, please, give Wicked another chance. With this particular work the reader needs to go into it without any preconcieved notions and allow Elphaba to become her own character seperate from Baum's 'I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog, too.' creation.

 

Elphaba has a soul. She has passion and a fire within that makes her so easy to relate to for anyone who has ever felt like society won't accept them for who they are. One can only have respect for her choices made regarding the wizard and her efforts in the underground resistance movement to bring rights to the 'thinking' animals. Her choices vs Glinda's challenge who really is 'good' in the end. What is goodness, afterall? Is it following orders, obeying those in stations above your own? Is it following your heart regardless of the consequences to do what you feel is right regardless of how anyone else sees your actions?

 

Another thing I found interesting that I never really realized the first time around is Wicked is very much a political allegory that can be easily applied to our world today.

 

The ending was to be expected for anyone who has read or seen The Wizard of Oz. It would have been much better IMO had Maguire added another layer to Elphaba's final moments, maybe a little plot twist at the very end or something to make me as a reader feel like they hadn't totally seen that one coming. Throughout the book you see Elphaba question her self worth and purpose, it would have been interesting had he given her her some sort of conscious 'purpose' in dying.

 

I do plan on reading this again very soon (as well as the sequels) as it is one of those books that with each read you notice something new.

 

The first time around I would have given Wicked a 0.5/5 because of how much I disliked it. That rating has risen quite considerably now to 4/5.

[BookJumper]

First of all, I'm made up that you decided to give this another chance and ended up enjoying it so much secondly, I agree about the cover - I had no choice but to buy the horrid cartoonified version; yours is so prettiful!

[Kylie]

Great review Abby, and that's certainly an interesting cover. For a minute I thought the picture was some sort of amalgamation of Elphaba/Nessarose because I couldn't see any arms. Once I saw the bigger picture it all became clear though. My edition has a black cover and green-edged pages. Here it is at the Book Depository.

 

Now I have to find a nice edition of Son of a Witch to complement this one.

[AbielleRose]

Something about this cover, for me, made the story more real and more of its own. Elphaba isn't wearing that black hat The Wicked Witch became famous for. Just a black peasant style dress thats actually quite pretty.

 

Kylie, you're copy is beautiful! She looks a bit sinister on the cover, menacing.

 

Sorry about the review itself being all over the place. I wrote it about an hour after taking a sleeping pill so my body was shutting down but my mind was racing. I forgot to touch on the whole 'love lost' concept too. Maybe later today I'll go back in and redo it and add my thoughts on that.

[BookJumper]

Well I thought it was a very good review, akshully .