2011 Christmas Spirit Wrap-up Post

Based on the goals that I had posted, I fell short, but only by one on each one.  I consider that not to be a total failure, but I was a little disappointed.  But when I take into consideration that I got really engrossed with Order of the Phoenix for the last few weeks of December, then its a success.   Next year, I probably will plan a little better and try to get as many books read by December, so as to enjoy a little Christmas reading before the holidays.  Here are the reviews for the movies and books that I did manage to complete (you can click on the titles for a review):

Movies:
1. A Charlie Brown Christmas
2. Disney's A Christmas Carol
3. A Christmas Story
4. Love Actually

Books:
1. The Christmas Scrapbook: A Harmony Story
2. Lost December: a novel
3. The Quiet Little Woman : a Christmas story 
4. The Christmas Wedding


Yes, I will participate next year and am already looking forward to it already.

The Christmas Wedding - James Paterson and Richard DiLallo

Title: The Christmas Wedding
Author: James Patterson and Richard Dilallo
Pages: 266
Published: 2011
Genre: Christmas Fiction
Rating: 2.5/5

The tree is decorated, the cookies are baked, and the packages are wrapped, but the biggest celebration this Christmas is Gaby Summerhill's wedding. Since her husband died three years ago, Gaby's four children have drifted apart, each consumed by the turbulence of their own lives. They haven't celebrated Christmas together since their father's death, but when Gaby announces that she's getting married--and that the groom will remain a secret until the wedding day--she may finally be able to bring them home for the holidays.

But the wedding isn't Gaby's only surprise--she has one more gift for her children, and it could change all their lives forever.

Thoughts: After reading a number of reviews on this book and seeing that it has had mediocre reviews, I thought I would still give this book a chance and see if the book was better than what was being reported in regards to the book.  Honestly,  I like the stories of Gaby's children better than that of Gaby herself, who I thought was a bit odd in that she wouldn't reveal who she was marrying to anybody.  I honestly would have liked to see more of the journey's of her children to the wedding itself.  Did Claire have a conversation with Gus about his behaviour?  What was the conversation between Gaby's lawyer daughter and her husband as they came from New York?  I felt that the story was a bit disjointed and felt that the hype for the book was just that: hype. If you need to find something that you can quickly read during the Christmas/Holiday season, this book definitely fits that mold; I finished this book in a couple of sittings and found it okay.

The Quiet Little Woman - Louisa May Alcott

Title: The Quiet Little Woman : a Christmas story
Author: Louisa May Alcott
Pages: 122
Published: 1999
Genre: Short stories, Fiction, Christmas
Rating: 3/5

Everything about The Quiet Little Woman: A Christmas Story by Louisa May Alcott is heartwarming, starting with the extraordinary tale of its origin. Alcott wrote the story for three girls who emulated Little Women's March sisters by founding their own literary publication, but the magazine was lost for many years; this story is now being published in book form for the first time. The Quiet Little Woman tells the story of Patty, a young girl living hopelessly in an orphanage, who is rescued at Christmas time by a kindly woman named Aunt Jane. Also collected in this small, beautiful (and not coincidentally, Christmas stocking-size) volume are two of Alcott's other holiday stories; one of them, "Rosa's Tale," is a really lovely fable about a horse who speaks at midnight on Christmas Eve. (via Goodreads.com)

Thoughts: It was a nice light read.  Granted the book was very short and the book only took me less than 12 hours of reading time to complete, but it was still a nice diversion from the heavier books that are awaiting me.  I find it interesting that these three stories were only discovered quite recently and that Ms. Alcott took the time to pen these stories for the Lukens girls and their little publication, which was inspired by the paper that the March girls made in Little Women, even though she was a well-known author at the time of these stories and was in the midst of her own busy writing career.  The stories are quite simple and while the first two stories in the collection were more entertaining, the last story was a little confusing for the most part.  Overall it was enjoyable and a nice read.

Recommended for fans of Little Women and Alcott's other work.

Lost December - Richard Paul Evans

Title: Lost December: a novel
Author: Richard Paul Evans
Pages: 346
Published: 2011
Genre: Christmas, Fiction
Rating: 4/5

When Luke Crisp graduates from business school, his father, CEO and co-founder of Fortune 500 Crisp's Copy Centers, is ready to share some good news: he wants to turn the family business over to his son. But Luke has other plans. Taking control of his trust fund, Luke leaves home to pursue a life of reckless indulgence.

But when his funds run out, so do his friends. Humbled, alone, and too ashamed to ask his father for help, Luke secretly takes a lowly job at one his father's copy centers. There he falls in love with a struggling single mother and begins to understand the greatest source of personal joy. (via jacket flap)

Thoughts: I really enjoyed this one.  The story takes the story of the prodigal son and gives it a modern twist.  I found it to be a little too simplistic and a little too straightforward, but I guess if somebody is basing a fictional story on a biblical tale, it usually is a little more straightforward than if one is developing one's own storyline, but for some reason I never found East of Eden to be that straightforward, even though it is also based on the biblical story of Cain and Able.  But I digress.

One thing that I thought that could have been improved upon was that there could have been a little more conflict between Luke and Rachael and more time spent on it; felt that it was rather rushed and it felt as though they resolved whatever issues they had rather quickly and probably a little too quickly for my liking.  I realize that its supposed to be a book that is meant to be read fairly quickly and therefore doesn't go into much depth, but I felt that issues that they had was dealt with fairly quickly, even though it felt like it was a huge betrayal for Rachael to discover; just felt that he could have added a few more pages and dealt with the conflict in regards to the text message a little more and have them discuss it a little more than they did at the end, not that I didn't understand where the author was coming from.

If you have read the other Christmas books by Evans, you will enjoy this one and even if you haven't read his other books, you will also like this warm-hearted tale.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling

Title: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter #4)
Author: J.K. Rowling
Pages: 636
Published: 2000
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Rating: 5/5

It is the summer holidays, and one night Harry Potter wakes up with his scar burning. He has had a strange dream, one that he can't help worrying about...until a timely invitation from Ron Weasley arrives: to nothing less than the Quidditch World Cup!

Soon Harry is reunited with Ron and Hermione and gasping at the thrills of an international Quidditch match. But then something horrible happens which casts a shadow over everybody, and Harry in particular... (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: This is my first re-read of this book (I have re-read the first three books a number of times that I have forgotten how many times I have actually forgotten how much I have re-read those three) and it was the first time that I listened to the audio version of the book (listened to it as I read the book) and I have to say that from my limited experience with audiobooks, that the reader for the Harry Potter books is one of the best that I have heard.  That aside, this book is probably not my favourite one of the series, but it does definitely set up the action for the final 3 books and is definitely more darker than the previous 3, which always had something light-hearted mixed in with the books, but you can start to see the shift in which Lord Voldermort is going to play a bigger role in the series and a bigger role in Harry, Ron, and Hermoine's lives from this point on.

Overall, the writing was really good for the age group targeted (10+) and because I slowed down and read it while I listened to the audio, I noticed things that I hadn't noticed before, like the fact that the S.P.E.W. storyline seemed to be dropped by the 3/4 mark of the book (which explains why that storyline doesn't appear in the movie).  And quite honestly by that point, I was more interested in the primary action of the Triwizard Tournament rather than whatever Hermione was trying to do for the house-elves, even if it was admiral thing on her part.  I also noticed the storyline of Hagrid's in which Dumbledore asked him to go and do something top secret over the summer, which is explained in the next novel.  The storytelling by Rowling is very good and the book does jump off from the end of the third book and by the end you can see that its going to get a lot darker before things start to clear up in the wizard world.  Highly recommended and can't wait to reread Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

The Christmas Scrapbook: A Harmony Story - Philip Gulley

Title: The Christmas Scrapbook: A Harmony Story
Author: Philip Gulley
Pages: 96
Published: 2005
Genre: Christmas fiction
Rating: 3/5

Sam Gardner admits that his history as a gift giver is abysmal. Determined to redeem himself, he has enrolled in a scrapbooking class. His artistic enterprise, however, ends in disaster. Meanwhile, wife Barbara sees through his lame ruse of a Wednesday night "men's group," but suspecting the worst, she begins to search for a romantic rival.Sam Gardner admits that his history as a gift giver is abysmal. Determined to redeem himself, he has enrolled in a scrapbooking class. His artistic enterprise, however, ends in disaster. Meanwhile, wife Barbara sees through his lame ruse of a Wednesday night "men's group," but suspecting the worst, she begins to search for a romantic rival.

Thoughts: Nice enjoyable read for Christmas.  Thought that the story was a little too quick for my liking and that the story could have been fleshed out a little more.

The Wild Rose - Jennifer Donnelly

Title: The Wild Rose (The Tea Rose #3)
Author: Jennifer Donnelly
Pages: 623
Published: 2011
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: 3.5/5

The Wild Rose is a part of the sweeping, multi-generational saga that began with The Tea Rose and continued with The Winter Rose. It is London, 1914. World War I looms on the horizon, women are fighting for the right to vote, and explorers are pushing the limits of endurance in the most forbidding corners of the earth. (via Amazon.com)

Thoughts: It was a good end to the Tea Rose trilogy that started with The Tea Rose.  The overall plot of the story was really good and was quite fascinating and intriguing and was a really good read, but it seemed that the ending really didn't really have any sort of thought to it.  It almost seems as though there were too many loose ends that were left and too many things that I was left wondering about as the book ended.  Would have loved to see more of the relationship between Willa and Seamus develop more in the later half of the book or even some sort of epilogue as to what happened to the characters that I have grown to love over the past few months, unless she is planning something else with these characters.  It was amazing to see the amount of research that she did in order to write these amazing books; the research really paid off with an amazing trilogy.

If you have read the previous two books in the series, I would recommend the read as it brings some closure to the Finnegan clan that readers have come to love.  Hope to see something from her in the near future.

15006 / 15000 pages. 100% done!

Rebel Angels - Libba Bray

Title: Rebel Angels
Author: Libba Bray
Pages: 548
Published: 2006 (first published 2005)
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical fiction
Rating: 4/5

Gemma Doyle is looking forward to a holiday from Spence Academy-spending time with her friends in the city, attending balls in fancy gowns with plunging necklines, and dallying with the handsome Lord Denby. Yet amid these distractions, her visions intensify-visions of three girls dressed in white, to whom something horrific has happened that only the realms can explain.

The lure is strong, and soon Gemma, Felicity, and Ann are turning flowers into butterflies in the enchanted world that Gemma takes them to. To the girls'' great joy, their beloved Pippa is there as well, eager to complete their circle of friendship.

But all is not well in the realms-or out. Kartik is back, desperately insisting to Gemma that she must bind the magic, lest colossal disaster befall her. Gemma is willing to comply, for this would bring her face-to-face with her late mother''s greatest friend, now Gemma''s foe-Circe. Until Circe is destroyed, Gemma cannot live out her destiny. But finding Circe proves a most perilous task. . . . (via ChaptersIndigo.ca)


Thoughts: I really enjoyed this one.  The book had a good pace throughout the book and there wasn't exactly anything wanting for a little action.  There were a few moments in which I got a little freaked out (aka scared) and had to put the book down and read something that was a little less freakish.  Overall it was a pretty good book and would recommend it older young adult readers (those probably those 15 years and above) and those not afraid of things getting a little frightening.

14383 / 15000 pages. 96% done!

Little House in the Big Woods - Laura Ingalls Wilder

Title: Little House in the Big Woods
Author: Laura Ingalls Wilder
Pages: 238
Published: 2004 (first published 1932)
Genre: Classics, Historical fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 4/5

Wolves and panthers and bears roam the deep Wisconsin woods in the late 1870's. In those same woods, Laura lives with Pa and Ma, and her sisters, Mary and Baby Carrie, in a snug little house built of logs. Pa hunts and traps. Ma makes her own cheese and butter. All night long, the wind howls lonesomely, but Pa plays the fiddle and sings, keeping the family safe and cozy. 

Thoughts: This is one of those books that you read when you were young and you come back later and read, either to your own child or by yourself.  While it reminds oneself how much simpler life was almost 140 years ago, it also reminds one that it was also a much harder existence because one had to make everything one ate and wore; there was no grocery store to get butter, cheese, milk and bread and one couldn't just hop in ones car to go and get a new outfit at the local store.  Its an enjoyable read at any age.

13835 / 15000 pages. 92% done!

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

Title: Frankenstein
Author: Mary Shelley
Pages: 210
Published: 2000 (originally published 1818)
Genre: Classics, Gothic, Horror
Rating: 4/5

Mary Shelley's timeless gothic novel presents the epic battle between man and monster at its greatest literary pitch. In trying to create life, the young student Victor Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, setting into motion a long and tragic chain of events that brings Victor to the very brink of madness. (via Amazon.com)

Thoughts: I quite enjoyed it.  I think that this book should serve as a cautionary tale about creating something that can get beyond our control and that man's selfishness often creates things that makes us feel as though we are god-like.

13597 / 15000 pages. 91% done!

Captivity - Deborah Noyes

Title: Captivity
Author: Deborah Noyes
Pages: 352
Published: 2010
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: 3/5

This masterful historical novel by Deborah Noyes, the lauded author of Angel & Apostle, The Ghosts of Kerfol, and Encyclopedia of the End (starred PW) is two stories: The first centers upon the strange, true tale of the Fox Sisters, the enigmatic family of young women who, in upstate New York in 1848, proclaimed that they could converse with the dead. Doing so, they unwittingly (but artfully) gave birth to a religious movement that touched two continents: the American Spiritualists. Their followers included the famous and the rich, and their effect on American spirituality lasted a full generation. Still, there are echoes. The Fox Sisters' is a story of ambition and playfulness, of illusion and fear, of indulgence, guilt and finally self-destruction. The second story in Captivity is about loss and grief. It is the evocative tale of the bright promise that the Fox Sisters offer up to the skeptical Clara Gill, a reclusive woman of a certain age who long ago isolated herself with her paintings, following the scandalous loss of her beautiful young lover in London. Lyrical and authentic-and more than a bit shadowy-Captivity is, finally, a tale about physical desire and the hope that even the thinnest faith can offer up to a darkening heart. (via Goodreads)


Thoughts: It took me about half of the book to get into it and it was after a podcast that I heard on the Fox sisters that I actually got into the book.The one thing that bugged me about the book was the constant back and forth between the storyline for the Fox sisters and Clara and it was a huge thing that I couldn't read it for sometime.  I probably missed things that were important to the story, but the last few readings of the book, I just wanted to get it done.

13387 / 15000 pages. 89% done!

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling

Title: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Author: J.K. Rowling
Pages: 317
Published: 1999
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Rating: 5/5

Harry Potter is a very unusual boy. He can't wait to get back to school after the Summer holidays! But that's not the only unusual thing about Harry; Harry's school is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Harry is a wizard! But when Harry, along with his best friends Ron and Hermione, go back for their third year at Hogwarts, the atmosphere is tense. There's an escaped mass murderer on the loose, and the sinister prison guards of Azkaban have been called in to guard the school ...(via Chapter.ca)


Thoughts: This was the 3rd or 4th time that I have read this book and is one of my favourites in the Harry Potter series  and was probably the best one that was adapted to film (its also my favourite movie and was the first one that I saw of the Harry Potter movies), but I digress.  One thing I like about the third book is that it deals with stuff that is still fairly light and fun (the Maurader's Map, the trip to Hogsmeade), but also deals with quite a bit of darker factors in the the story that have implications in later books (the introduction of the dementors, Lupin and Pettigrew, etc.). In other words, it has a nice balance of the elements that were in the first two books, but also is a nice introduction into the darker elements that come into more prominence over the next four books.  Recommended highly.

13035 / 15000 pages. 87% done!

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

Title: The Night Circus
Author: Erin Morgenstern
Pages: 384
Published: 2011
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4/5

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. 


But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: It took me awhile to get into the book, but once it did, I was entranced with the book and felt like I was at a circus.  I really liked how the three storylines were tied up at the end of the book; it felt like one was in a managrie of sorts. One pet peeve of the book was that I didn't like the alternating chapters and got me turned around so many times that I didn't know where the story was headed and if they had been in three separate sections, then I probably could have made sense of the book a little more.

12718 / 15000 pages. 85% done!

Persuasion - Jane Austen

Title: Persuasion
Author: Jane Austen
Pages: 250
Published: 2003 (originally 1818)
Genre: Classics
Rating: 3.8/5

At twenty-seven, Anne Elliot is no longer young and has few romantic prospects. Eight years earlier, she had been persuaded by her friend Lady Russell to break off her engagement to Frederick Wentworth, a handsome naval captain with neither fortune nor rank. What happens when they encounter each other again is movingly told in Jane Austen’s last completed novel. Set in the fashionable societies of Lyme Regis and Bath, Persuasion is a brilliant satire of vanity and pretension, but, above all, it is a love story tinged with the heartache of missed opportunities. (via Goodreads)


Thoughts:  This was my first time reading this book and I thought it was ok, especially after reading 3 other Austen books that I enjoyed.  As I said to my book club last night during our discussion, this book felt that a little slower than Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, and Emma because there were no secondary plot that was discernible to that of Wentworth and Anne.  I am not saying that it was a bad book, it wasn't, but I just felt that it was a lot slower than that of the three of Austen's books that I had already read.  Recommended for those that have read Austen's previous books or that enjoy reading classic literature. 

12334 / 15000 pages. 82% done!

Moneyball - Michael Lewis

Title: Moneyball: the art of winning an unfair game
Author: Michael Lewis
Pages: 320
Published: 2011 (originally published in 2003)
Genre: Non-fiction, Sports
Rating: 3.5/5

The Oakland Athletics have a secret: a winning baseball team is made, not bought.In major league baseball the biggest wallet is supposed to win: rich teams spend four times as much on talent as poor teams. But over the past four years, the Oakland Athletics, a major league team with a minor league payroll, have had one of the best records. Last year their superstar, Jason Giambi, went to the superrich Yankees. It hasn't made any difference to Oakland: their fabulous season included an American League record for consecutive victories. Billy Beane, general manager of the Athletics, is putting into practice on the field revolutionary principles garnered from geek statisticians and college professors. Michael Lewis's brilliant, irreverent reporting takes us from the dugouts and locker rooms-where coaches and players struggle to unlearn most of what they know about pitching and hitting-to the boardrooms, where we meet owners who begin to look like fools at the poker table, spending enormous sums without a clue what they are doing. (via Goodreads)


Thoughts: I read this book because of the movie and also because I had heard about on a sports podcast that I listen to on a regular basis.  The first book of Lewis' that I read was The Big Short and by the end of that one I was ready to finish it, as I felt that the subject was a tad dull and would never read another one of his books.  Well, I caved.  Overall I thought that it was a good read and that it had an interesting subject to talk about.  But, there were times that I had to just slog through the book and read it at times.   A bunch of the book flew over my head in terms of the statistics, but what was interesting to me was the history behind what would become moneyball.   I would recommend the book for those that like to read about the statistical analysis of professional athletes, especially baseball fans.

12084 / 15000 pages. 81% done!

True Grit - Charles Portis

Title: True Grit
Author: Charles Portis
Pages: 235
Published: 2010 (originally 1968)
Genre: Western
Rating: 4/5

True Grit tells the story of Mattie Ross, who is just fourteen years of age when a coward going by the name of Tom Chaney shoots her father down in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and robs him of his life, his horse, and $150 in cash. Mattie leaves home to avenge her father's blood. With the one-eyed Rooster Cogburn, the meanest available U.S. Marshal, by her side, Mattie pursues the homicide into Indian Territory. (via Goodreads)


Thoughts: I quite enjoyed it, especially since the most recent film version of True Grit follows the book more closely than the John Wayne version, even though I haven't seen that particular version.  Anyways, I really liked this book, but once you view the movie, the book is basically ruined and therefore took me awhile to actually finish it.  Its not that its a bad book, its actually quite good, but its just that the Cohen Brothers took way too much from the book.  But all that being said, I really enjoyed the book and would highly recommend the book to anybody who either has read a western or hasn't read a western.

11764 / 15000 pages. 78% done!

The Winter Rose - Jennifer Donnelly

Title: The Winter Rose
Author: Jennifer Donnelly
Pages: 720
Published: 2008 (first published in 2006)
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: 4/5

It has been twelve years since a dark, murderous figure stalked the alleys and courts of Whitechapel. And yet, in the summer of 1900, East London is still poor, still brutal, still a shadow city to its western twin. Among the reformers is an idealistic young woman named India Selwyn-Jones, recently graduated from medical school. With the help of her influential fiance--Freddie Lytton, an up-and-coming Liberal MP--she works to shut down the area's opium dens that destroy both body and soul. Her selfless activities better her patients' lives and bring her immense gratification, but unfortunately, they also bring her into direct conflict with East London's ruling crime lord--Sid Malone.

India is not good for business and at first, Malone wants her out. But against all odds, India and Sid fall in love. Different in nearly every way, they share one thing in common--they're both wounded souls. Their love is impossible and they know it, yet they cling to it desperately. Lytton, India's fiance, will stop at nothing to marry India and gain her family's fortune.

Fractious criminal underlings and rivals conspire against Sid. When Sid is finally betrayed by one of his own, he must flee London to save his life. Mistakenly thinking him dead, India, pregnant and desperate, marries Freddie to provide a father for hers and Sid's child. India and Sid must each make a terrible sacrifice--a sacrifice that will change them both forever. One that will lead them to other lives, and other places...and perhaps--one distant, bittersweet day--back to each other. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I really enjoyed it, to put it bluntly.  It was one of those books that gripped you that made you stay up later reading than you really wanted to.  The characterizations of the characters was enjoyable, but really didn't see myself liking the youngest member of the Finnegan and felt that the author spent a little too much time with him during the final part of the book instead of focusing on the India storyline, even though I realize that Seamus' story is the focus of the final book.    I hope that the final book is just as good as the first two books.


Recommended for those that loved the first book, The Tea Rose, and for those that enjoy historical fiction.

11529 / 15000 pages. 77% done!

The American Heiress - Daisy Goodwin

Title: The American Heiress
Author: Daisy Goodwin
Pages: 468
Published: 2011 (first published 2010)
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: 3/5

Traveling abroad with her mother at the turn of the twentieth century to seek a titled husband, beautiful, vivacious Cora Cash, whose family mansion in Newport dwarfs the Vanderbilts’, suddenly finds herself Duchess of Wareham, married to Ivo, the most eligible bachelor in England. Nothing is quite as it seems, however: Ivo is withdrawn and secretive, and the English social scene is full of traps and betrayals. Money, Cora soon learns, cannot buy everything, as she must decide what is truly worth the price in her life and her marriage. (via Goodreads)


Thoughts: It was a nice summer read, as it had a fairly quick pack to the book and other than a few moments in which the story seemed to drag, it was a book that one could read large portions of the book without really getting lost.  It didn't really need to have the Bertha/Jim storyline, as it only seemed to serve really no purpose in the overall storyline and could have been easily reduced by about 50 pages and still be quite effective.  Interestingly enough, the story is believed to be based on the life of Consuelo Vanderbilt. Recommended for those that like reading historical fiction.

10809 / 15000 pages. 72% done!

Sing You Home - Jodi Picoult

Title: Sing You Home
Author: Jodi Picoult
Pages: 466
Published: 2011
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 3/5

One miscarriage too many spelled the end of Max and Zoe Baxter's marriage. Though the former couple went quite separate ways, their fates remained entangled: After veering into alcoholism, Max is saved in multiple senses by his fundamentalist conversion; Zoe, for her part, finds healing relief in music therapy and the friendship, then romantic love with Vanessa, her counselor. After Zoe and Vanessa, now married, decide to have a baby, they realize that they must join battle with Max, who objects on both religious and financial grounds. (via Goodreads)


Thoughts: This was the first Jodi Picoult book that I have finished and quite enjoyed it, but to a point.  As an evangelical Christian, I found the evangelical side a little unnerving.  The reason that I found the evangelical side a little too over the top.  I do realize that most evangelicals in the United States feel this way and it plays a larger role in the US than it does in Canada, but it was a little preechy and too over the top as to how Ms. Picoult portrayed the evangelical side and I realize why she did that.  But couldn't there have been a more moderating evangelical point of view?

Another thing that bugged me was that the music CD that came along with the book really didn't have anything to do with the book as a whole.  Granted I only listened to a few of the songs, but I felt the CD didn't really have anything to do with the book.  I would recommend the book to those that like Jodi Picoult books or those who write in a similar manner.

10341 / 15000 pages. 69% done!

A Great and Terrible Beauty - Libba Bray

Title: A Great and Terrible Beauty
Author: Libba Bray
Pages: 403
Published: 2005 (first published 2003)
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Rating: 4/5

It's 1895, and after the suicide of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma's reception there is a chilly one. To make things worse, she's been followed by a mysterious young Indian man, a man sent to watch her. But why? What is her destiny? And what will her entanglement with Spence's most powerful girls-and their foray into the spiritual world-lead to? (via Chapters.ca)

Why I read this book: I had wanted to read this book for a number of years, as I had heard that it was quite a good book and I was intrigued.  

Thoughts: Really enjoyed the book.  I found that the book had a good flow to it and there was rarely a moment in which there was an awkward; everything had a purpose to it, almost as though the author planned it that way.  Even though the characters may have seemed rather self-centered, they were actually quite developed and fairly rounded out.  While I don't read a lot of thrillers, there was portion of the book towards the end of the book that got me a little creeped out that I had to put the book down and go to bed.  Overall a pretty good book.

9875 / 15000 pages. 66% done!