January Book List
Jan. 31st, 2008 02:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chestnutcurlsJanuary is typically one of my biggest reading months. It's dark and cold and there's not much else to do.
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Read as an e-book. This one is about Catherine, who falls in love with a guy on vacation in Bath and then visits his mysterious family home. Once there, her imagination runs away with her and she becomes convinced that the abbey holds a horrible secret. It’s not my favorite Austen – a little too silly – but it’s still good.
Beachglass by Wendy Blackburn
A novel about a young woman returning home to care for her best friend, who’s dying of AIDS. The story of how they met in AA and their journeys to sober lives is told in flashback. It’s a raw, real, worldly book, so maybe not best for people who are sensitive about content, but I found it inspiring and touching.
Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald
The story of a young Iranian woman whose parents send her to America to find a husband. It’s sweet and funny and very informative about Iranian culture. It’s also interesting how a totally American woman came to write a believable book from the perspective of an Iranian woman – you can read about it on her website.
Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman
Superhero fans, you will love this. It’s a realistic-seeming, modern novel about Doctor Impossible, the ultimate villain, and Fatale, a cyborg who’s the newest member of the Champions, a famous super-team. The Champions have reunited to foil Doctor Impossible after he breaks out of prison for the millionth time, but they have bigger problems with each other than with fighting the bad guy. I really, really liked it.
Lightning by Dean Koontz
Myla gave this to me for Christmas – she says it’s her favorite book. It’s part time travel mystery, part impossible love story, part Sarah Connor Chronicles. The less you know going in, the better, in my opinion. I loved it. I passed it right off to Evan, and after some initial skepticism, he loved it too.
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Yes. I’m reading His Dark Materials. I wasn’t planning to, but Matt loaned me his copies and insisted that I give them a shot, despite the controversy. I’m glad I did because it’s a very intriguing story. For those who don’t know, Philip Pullman is an atheist who claims that he wrote this series as an “anti-Narnia,” promoting atheism to kids. So far? I’m not offended. The “Church” he’s describing seems like a pretty generic Evil Empire to me. Supposedly the in-your-face stuff comes later.
Anyway, this is the first book, about an orphan girl named Lyra who finds herself in the possession of a golden compass that can tell the future, people‘s true intentions, and anything else you’d want to know. As you would expect, a lot of bad people want to take it from her. I’m oversimplifying a very complex plot. Bottom line: I’m in the middle of the second book now and still liking it.
Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time by Rob Sheffield
Rob Sheffield is a writer for Rolling Stone. This is a memoir about his brief marriage – his wife died when they were both very young. Every chapter begins with the tracklist of a mix tape from the time he’s writing about. Romantics and people who have fond memories of the early 90’s will really enjoy this.
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
This is a very simple YA novel about an eccentric, unique girl who shakes up a suburban high school by refusing to conform. I liked it.
The Big Empty by J.B. Stephens
YA sci-fi: after a supervirus wipes out most Americans, many survivors are forced by the government to leave the central US and congregate in the coastal cities. Some residents don’t like that and form a sort of utopia in the now-deserted area, to which they draw new people via a complicated selection process. To me this was thoroughly eh. It’s the first in a series, but I don’t plan to look for the others.
Digging to America by Anne Tyler
A lot of popular writers cite this as a book that made them want to write better. It’s about two very different families – one American, one Iranian-American – who meet at the airport when they adopt daughters from Korea on the same day. An unlikely friendship blooms as the girls grow up. It’s a good book.
Total for January: 10
2008 year to date: 10
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Read as an e-book. This one is about Catherine, who falls in love with a guy on vacation in Bath and then visits his mysterious family home. Once there, her imagination runs away with her and she becomes convinced that the abbey holds a horrible secret. It’s not my favorite Austen – a little too silly – but it’s still good.
Beachglass by Wendy Blackburn
A novel about a young woman returning home to care for her best friend, who’s dying of AIDS. The story of how they met in AA and their journeys to sober lives is told in flashback. It’s a raw, real, worldly book, so maybe not best for people who are sensitive about content, but I found it inspiring and touching.
Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald
The story of a young Iranian woman whose parents send her to America to find a husband. It’s sweet and funny and very informative about Iranian culture. It’s also interesting how a totally American woman came to write a believable book from the perspective of an Iranian woman – you can read about it on her website.
Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman
Superhero fans, you will love this. It’s a realistic-seeming, modern novel about Doctor Impossible, the ultimate villain, and Fatale, a cyborg who’s the newest member of the Champions, a famous super-team. The Champions have reunited to foil Doctor Impossible after he breaks out of prison for the millionth time, but they have bigger problems with each other than with fighting the bad guy. I really, really liked it.
Lightning by Dean Koontz
Myla gave this to me for Christmas – she says it’s her favorite book. It’s part time travel mystery, part impossible love story, part Sarah Connor Chronicles. The less you know going in, the better, in my opinion. I loved it. I passed it right off to Evan, and after some initial skepticism, he loved it too.
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Yes. I’m reading His Dark Materials. I wasn’t planning to, but Matt loaned me his copies and insisted that I give them a shot, despite the controversy. I’m glad I did because it’s a very intriguing story. For those who don’t know, Philip Pullman is an atheist who claims that he wrote this series as an “anti-Narnia,” promoting atheism to kids. So far? I’m not offended. The “Church” he’s describing seems like a pretty generic Evil Empire to me. Supposedly the in-your-face stuff comes later.
Anyway, this is the first book, about an orphan girl named Lyra who finds herself in the possession of a golden compass that can tell the future, people‘s true intentions, and anything else you’d want to know. As you would expect, a lot of bad people want to take it from her. I’m oversimplifying a very complex plot. Bottom line: I’m in the middle of the second book now and still liking it.
Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time by Rob Sheffield
Rob Sheffield is a writer for Rolling Stone. This is a memoir about his brief marriage – his wife died when they were both very young. Every chapter begins with the tracklist of a mix tape from the time he’s writing about. Romantics and people who have fond memories of the early 90’s will really enjoy this.
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
This is a very simple YA novel about an eccentric, unique girl who shakes up a suburban high school by refusing to conform. I liked it.
The Big Empty by J.B. Stephens
YA sci-fi: after a supervirus wipes out most Americans, many survivors are forced by the government to leave the central US and congregate in the coastal cities. Some residents don’t like that and form a sort of utopia in the now-deserted area, to which they draw new people via a complicated selection process. To me this was thoroughly eh. It’s the first in a series, but I don’t plan to look for the others.
Digging to America by Anne Tyler
A lot of popular writers cite this as a book that made them want to write better. It’s about two very different families – one American, one Iranian-American – who meet at the airport when they adopt daughters from Korea on the same day. An unlikely friendship blooms as the girls grow up. It’s a good book.
Total for January: 10
2008 year to date: 10
