A few weeks ago the Newbery Award winner was announced: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. When I heard that I was surprised, my dad had just bought that book not too long ago, and it didn't strike me as a kid's book. Then again, the Newbery Award seems to have veered from being focused on book's appropriate for children to just books adults think are good. I had not read The Graveyard Book yet, nor anything by Neil Gaiman. Of course Coraline had just been made into a movie and I was hearing a lot about it, and it sounded interesting. Although I never could really tell what it was about, all I heard was that a girl goes through a door and finds a house similar to hers, but not really. I wasn't real sure of the story. While I was reading posts on the Newbery Project blog someone had posted a link to Neil Gaiman's journal, about when he found out he had won the Newbery. I read that post, and then several more, intrigued. This man is weird, I thought. In one of his posts there was a button trailer he had made, which was really odd. And another he answered questions from fans, one of which being would my young child like Coraline? In his answer he said that adults would probably be creeped out more than children, kids just viewing it as an adventure story. So I knew I had to read it. I bought and read Coraline in a few hours, it is shelved in the "young reader's" section at my bookstore. And it was definitely creepy. To sum up the book, Coraline's parents don't pay much attention to her, being busy with work and other things. She wants them to play with her, and is bored so she explores the house. She discovers a door that is bricked up. Later that night, she hears a noise, follows it and discovers the door is open. She goes through and finds a house just like hers, with a mother like hers only with button eyes. The mother invites her to stay, Coraline refuses. But the mother is determined and does many things to make her stay, including stealing her parents. It really creeped me out, especially once I thought about it. But it is a well-written book. A quick read, but will definitely stay with you, and maybe make you scared of buttons.
Now I'm in the middle of reading The Pirate Hunter by Richard Zacks, the true story of Captain Kidd. I've always been a fan of pirates and pirate books. This one is taking me a while to read, but it's very interesting. I'm actually feeling sorry for Captain Kidd, and learning a lot about pirates and privateers.
Recently I went to the bookstore with a co-worker of mine and picked out some B&N classics (so cheap, I love them). He asked for a recommendation and of course, I picked my all-time favorite, The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. He's now reading it and enjoying it very much and from time to time we talk about it. And of course, talking about the Musketeers makes me want to re-read them all. But I feel like I should read the 30+ books on my "to-read" shelf first.
Next weekend I am going to the McConnell Literature Conference and I'm really excited. I get to see Chris Crutcher and Gary D. Schmidt (whose book, The Wednesday Wars I just finished reading). Should be a fun experience!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
book list 2008
so it's super late, but here's my book list for 2008. obviously my plan of writing reviews didn't quite work, so i'm thinking of a way to revise my blog some. i think i'll start by just giving select reviews. oh! and the award winners are coming soon! yay!
1. Cursor’s Fury – Jim Butcher
2. Strawberry Girl – Lois Lenski
3. A Walk to Remember – Nicholas Sparks
4. Kira-Kira – Cynthia Kadohata
5. Mystic River – Dennis Lehane
6. Gentlemen of the Road – Michael Chabon
7. Criss Cross – Lynne Rae Perkins
8. Maus I – Art Spiegelman
9. The Earth Giant – Melvin Burgess
10. Beloved – Toni Morrison
11. Princess on the Brink – Meg Cabot
12. The Book of Three – Lloyd Alexander
13. Young Zorro: The Iron Brand – Jan Adkins
14. Bud, Not Buddy – Christopher Paul Curtis
15. The Black Cauldron – Lloyd Alexander
16. A Great and Terrible Beauty – Libba Bray
17. Their Eyes were Watching God – Zora Neale Hurston
18. Out of the Dust – Karen Hesse
19. Confessions of a Prep School Mommy Handler – Wade Rouse
20. A Visit to William Blake’s Inn – Nancy Willard
21. Life of Pi – Yann Martel
22. The Hero and the Crown – Robin McKinley
23. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan – Lisa See
24. Notes from a Small Island – Bill Bryson
25. Rebel Angels – Libba Bray
26. Tender is the Night – F. Scott Fitzgerald
27. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim – David Sedaris
28. Into Thin Air – Jon Krakauer
29. The High King – Lloyd Alexander
30. Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices – Paul Fleischman
31. The Mark of Zorro – Johnston McCulley
32. Prep- Curtis Sittenfeld
33. The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread – Kate DiCamillo
34. The Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk Kidd
35. The Panama Hat Trail – Tom Miller
36. The Age of Innocence – Edith Wharton
37. Falling Leaves – Adeline Yen Mah
38. A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl’s Journal, 1830-32 – Joan W. Blos
39. American Born Chinese – Gene Luen Yang
40. Shakespeare: The World as Stage – Bill Bryson
41. A Handful of Herbs – Barbara Segall
42. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice – Laurie R. King
43. Physik – Angie Sage
44. MC Higgins, the Great – Virginia Hamilton
45. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon
46. Subterranean – James Rollins
47. No Talking – Andrew Clements
48. New Book of Herbs – Jekka McVicar
49. The Doll in the Garden – Mary Downing Hahn
50. The Subterraneans – Jack Kerouac
51. Warriors: Into the wild – Erin Hunter
52. Within Reach: My Everest Story – Mark Pfetzer
53. A Child Called It – Dave Pelzer
54. A Monstrous Regiment of Women – Laurie R. King
55. The Titan’s Curse – Rick Riordan
56. Crispin: At the Edge of the World – Avi
57. Rules – Cynthia Lord
58. The Lost Boy – Dave Pelzer
59. Spud – John van de Ruit
60. A Brother’s Journey – Richard Pelzer
61. Roller Skates – Ruth Sawyer
62. Peony in Love – Lisa See
63. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume 1: The Pox Party – MT Anderson
64. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village – Laura Amy Schlitz
65. A Man Named Dave – Dave Pelzer
66. Dairy Queen – Catherine Gilbert Murdock
67. …and Now Miguel – Joseph Krumgold
68. It’s Okay to Miss the Bed on the First Jump: and Other Life Lessons I Learned from Dogs – John O’Hurley
69.The Torrents of Spring – Ernest Hemingway
70. Sold – Patricia McCormick
71. Barrrel Fever- David Sedaris
72. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life – Barbara Kingsolver
73. Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia – Elizabeth Gilbert
74. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl
75. Igraine the Brave – Cornelia Funke
76. Confessions of a Shopaholic – Sophie Kinsella
77. Into the Wild – Jon Krakauer
78. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian – Sherman Alexie
79. Cave of the Dark Wind – Dave Barry
80. Shopaholic Takes Manhattan – Sophie Kinsella
81. Small Favor – Jim Butcher
82. Shopaholic Ties the Knot – Sophie Kinsella
83. The Off Season – Catherine Gilbert Murdock
84. Zorro Unmasked – Sandra Curtis
85. A Letter of Mary – Laurie R. King
86. The Willoughbys – Lois Lowry
87. The Giver – Lois Lowry
88. P.S. Longer Letter Later – Paula Danziger & Ann M. Martin
89. Shopaholic and Sister – Sophie Kinsella
90. They Cage the Animals at Night – Jennings Michael Burch
91. Snail Mail No More – Paula Danziger & Ann M. Martin
92. Gathering Blue – Lois Lowry
93. Messenger – Lois Lowry
94. Big Fish – Daniel Wallace
95. Finding Manana – Mirta Ojito
96. Shopaholic and Baby – Sophie Kinsella
97. Captain’s Fury – Jim Butcher
98.Veil of Roses – Laura Fitzgerald
99. The Sweet Far Thing – Libba Bray
100. When I Crossed No-Bob – Margaret McMullan
101. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier – Ishmael Beah
102. The Young Merlin Trilogy – Jane Yolen
103. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry – Mildred D. Taylor
104. The Namesake – Jhumpa Lahiri
105. The Execution of Sherlock Holmes – Donald Thomas
106. The Star of Kazan – Eva Ibbotson
107. The Undomestic Goddess – Sophie Kinsella
108. Ticket to Ride – Larry Kane
109. Possible Side Effects – Augusten Burroughs
110. Beyond the Deepwoods – Paul Stewart
111. Bitter Sweets – Roopa Farooki
112. How to Twist a Dragon’s Tale – Cressida Cowell
113. The Moor – Laurie R. King
114. The Well of Ascension – Brandon Sanderson
115. This Can’t Be Happening at Macdonald Hall – Gordon Korman
116. Go Jump in the Pool! – Gordon Korman
117. Beware the Fish! – Gordon Korman
118. The War with Mr. Wizzle – Gordon Korman
119. The Zucchini Warriors – Gordon Korman
120. Something Fishy at Macdonald High – Gordon Korman
121. Macdonald High Goes Hollywood – Gordon Korman
122. What is the What – Dave Eggers
123. Steve and Me – Terri Irwin
124. Purity of Blood – Arturo Perez-Reverte
125. Twilight – Stephenie Meyer
126. The Thirteenth Tale – Diane Setterfield
127. O Jerusalem – Laurie R. King
128. Under the Banner of Heaven – Jon Krakauer
129. Endymion Spring – Matthew Skelton
130. The Pirates! In an Adventure with Communists – Gideon Defoe
131. Brisingr – Christopher Paolini
132. On Subbing – Dave Roche
133. Peter and the Shadow Thieves – Dave Barry
134. Maus II – Art Spiegelman
135. A Shadow in Summer – Daniel Abraham
136. The Last Lecture – Randy Pausch
137. New Moon – Stephenie Meyer
138. Sweet Thursday – John Steinbeck
139. Charlie Bone and the Beast – Jenny Nimmo
140. The Complete 35mm Sourcebook – Michael Busselle
141. The Hedge Knight – George R. R. Martin
142. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao – Junot Diaz
143. Justice Hall – Laurie R. King
144. Not Without My Daughter – Betty Mahmoody
145. I’m Emma, I’m a Quint – Stella Pevsner
146. The Au Pairs – Melissa de la Cruz
147. The Luxe – Anna Godbersen
148. 100 Cupboards – ND Wilson
149. Spud- the Madness Continues – John van de Ruit
150. Eiger Dreams – Jon Krakauer
151. The Jellyfish Season – Mary Downing Hahn
152. The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle – High Lofting
153. Elantris – Brandon Sanderson
154. Eclipse – Stephenie Meyer
155. Breaking Dawn – Stephenie Meyer
156. Confessions of a Counterfeit Farm Girl – Susan McCorkindale
157. Daphne’s Book – Mary Downing Hahn
158. The Tales of Beedle the Bard – JK Rowling
159. The Game – Laurie R. King
160. Twilight – Stephenie Meyer
161. Following My Own Footsteps – Mary Downing Hahn
162. Polgara the Sorceress – David and Leigh Eddings
163. Princeps’ Fury – Jim Butcher
164. Eclipse – Stephenie Meyer
165. Iceland: Land of the Sagas – David Roberts
1. Cursor’s Fury – Jim Butcher
2. Strawberry Girl – Lois Lenski
3. A Walk to Remember – Nicholas Sparks
4. Kira-Kira – Cynthia Kadohata
5. Mystic River – Dennis Lehane
6. Gentlemen of the Road – Michael Chabon
7. Criss Cross – Lynne Rae Perkins
8. Maus I – Art Spiegelman
9. The Earth Giant – Melvin Burgess
10. Beloved – Toni Morrison
11. Princess on the Brink – Meg Cabot
12. The Book of Three – Lloyd Alexander
13. Young Zorro: The Iron Brand – Jan Adkins
14. Bud, Not Buddy – Christopher Paul Curtis
15. The Black Cauldron – Lloyd Alexander
16. A Great and Terrible Beauty – Libba Bray
17. Their Eyes were Watching God – Zora Neale Hurston
18. Out of the Dust – Karen Hesse
19. Confessions of a Prep School Mommy Handler – Wade Rouse
20. A Visit to William Blake’s Inn – Nancy Willard
21. Life of Pi – Yann Martel
22. The Hero and the Crown – Robin McKinley
23. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan – Lisa See
24. Notes from a Small Island – Bill Bryson
25. Rebel Angels – Libba Bray
26. Tender is the Night – F. Scott Fitzgerald
27. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim – David Sedaris
28. Into Thin Air – Jon Krakauer
29. The High King – Lloyd Alexander
30. Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices – Paul Fleischman
31. The Mark of Zorro – Johnston McCulley
32. Prep- Curtis Sittenfeld
33. The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread – Kate DiCamillo
34. The Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk Kidd
35. The Panama Hat Trail – Tom Miller
36. The Age of Innocence – Edith Wharton
37. Falling Leaves – Adeline Yen Mah
38. A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl’s Journal, 1830-32 – Joan W. Blos
39. American Born Chinese – Gene Luen Yang
40. Shakespeare: The World as Stage – Bill Bryson
41. A Handful of Herbs – Barbara Segall
42. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice – Laurie R. King
43. Physik – Angie Sage
44. MC Higgins, the Great – Virginia Hamilton
45. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon
46. Subterranean – James Rollins
47. No Talking – Andrew Clements
48. New Book of Herbs – Jekka McVicar
49. The Doll in the Garden – Mary Downing Hahn
50. The Subterraneans – Jack Kerouac
51. Warriors: Into the wild – Erin Hunter
52. Within Reach: My Everest Story – Mark Pfetzer
53. A Child Called It – Dave Pelzer
54. A Monstrous Regiment of Women – Laurie R. King
55. The Titan’s Curse – Rick Riordan
56. Crispin: At the Edge of the World – Avi
57. Rules – Cynthia Lord
58. The Lost Boy – Dave Pelzer
59. Spud – John van de Ruit
60. A Brother’s Journey – Richard Pelzer
61. Roller Skates – Ruth Sawyer
62. Peony in Love – Lisa See
63. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume 1: The Pox Party – MT Anderson
64. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village – Laura Amy Schlitz
65. A Man Named Dave – Dave Pelzer
66. Dairy Queen – Catherine Gilbert Murdock
67. …and Now Miguel – Joseph Krumgold
68. It’s Okay to Miss the Bed on the First Jump: and Other Life Lessons I Learned from Dogs – John O’Hurley
69.The Torrents of Spring – Ernest Hemingway
70. Sold – Patricia McCormick
71. Barrrel Fever- David Sedaris
72. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life – Barbara Kingsolver
73. Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia – Elizabeth Gilbert
74. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl
75. Igraine the Brave – Cornelia Funke
76. Confessions of a Shopaholic – Sophie Kinsella
77. Into the Wild – Jon Krakauer
78. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian – Sherman Alexie
79. Cave of the Dark Wind – Dave Barry
80. Shopaholic Takes Manhattan – Sophie Kinsella
81. Small Favor – Jim Butcher
82. Shopaholic Ties the Knot – Sophie Kinsella
83. The Off Season – Catherine Gilbert Murdock
84. Zorro Unmasked – Sandra Curtis
85. A Letter of Mary – Laurie R. King
86. The Willoughbys – Lois Lowry
87. The Giver – Lois Lowry
88. P.S. Longer Letter Later – Paula Danziger & Ann M. Martin
89. Shopaholic and Sister – Sophie Kinsella
90. They Cage the Animals at Night – Jennings Michael Burch
91. Snail Mail No More – Paula Danziger & Ann M. Martin
92. Gathering Blue – Lois Lowry
93. Messenger – Lois Lowry
94. Big Fish – Daniel Wallace
95. Finding Manana – Mirta Ojito
96. Shopaholic and Baby – Sophie Kinsella
97. Captain’s Fury – Jim Butcher
98.Veil of Roses – Laura Fitzgerald
99. The Sweet Far Thing – Libba Bray
100. When I Crossed No-Bob – Margaret McMullan
101. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier – Ishmael Beah
102. The Young Merlin Trilogy – Jane Yolen
103. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry – Mildred D. Taylor
104. The Namesake – Jhumpa Lahiri
105. The Execution of Sherlock Holmes – Donald Thomas
106. The Star of Kazan – Eva Ibbotson
107. The Undomestic Goddess – Sophie Kinsella
108. Ticket to Ride – Larry Kane
109. Possible Side Effects – Augusten Burroughs
110. Beyond the Deepwoods – Paul Stewart
111. Bitter Sweets – Roopa Farooki
112. How to Twist a Dragon’s Tale – Cressida Cowell
113. The Moor – Laurie R. King
114. The Well of Ascension – Brandon Sanderson
115. This Can’t Be Happening at Macdonald Hall – Gordon Korman
116. Go Jump in the Pool! – Gordon Korman
117. Beware the Fish! – Gordon Korman
118. The War with Mr. Wizzle – Gordon Korman
119. The Zucchini Warriors – Gordon Korman
120. Something Fishy at Macdonald High – Gordon Korman
121. Macdonald High Goes Hollywood – Gordon Korman
122. What is the What – Dave Eggers
123. Steve and Me – Terri Irwin
124. Purity of Blood – Arturo Perez-Reverte
125. Twilight – Stephenie Meyer
126. The Thirteenth Tale – Diane Setterfield
127. O Jerusalem – Laurie R. King
128. Under the Banner of Heaven – Jon Krakauer
129. Endymion Spring – Matthew Skelton
130. The Pirates! In an Adventure with Communists – Gideon Defoe
131. Brisingr – Christopher Paolini
132. On Subbing – Dave Roche
133. Peter and the Shadow Thieves – Dave Barry
134. Maus II – Art Spiegelman
135. A Shadow in Summer – Daniel Abraham
136. The Last Lecture – Randy Pausch
137. New Moon – Stephenie Meyer
138. Sweet Thursday – John Steinbeck
139. Charlie Bone and the Beast – Jenny Nimmo
140. The Complete 35mm Sourcebook – Michael Busselle
141. The Hedge Knight – George R. R. Martin
142. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao – Junot Diaz
143. Justice Hall – Laurie R. King
144. Not Without My Daughter – Betty Mahmoody
145. I’m Emma, I’m a Quint – Stella Pevsner
146. The Au Pairs – Melissa de la Cruz
147. The Luxe – Anna Godbersen
148. 100 Cupboards – ND Wilson
149. Spud- the Madness Continues – John van de Ruit
150. Eiger Dreams – Jon Krakauer
151. The Jellyfish Season – Mary Downing Hahn
152. The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle – High Lofting
153. Elantris – Brandon Sanderson
154. Eclipse – Stephenie Meyer
155. Breaking Dawn – Stephenie Meyer
156. Confessions of a Counterfeit Farm Girl – Susan McCorkindale
157. Daphne’s Book – Mary Downing Hahn
158. The Tales of Beedle the Bard – JK Rowling
159. The Game – Laurie R. King
160. Twilight – Stephenie Meyer
161. Following My Own Footsteps – Mary Downing Hahn
162. Polgara the Sorceress – David and Leigh Eddings
163. Princeps’ Fury – Jim Butcher
164. Eclipse – Stephenie Meyer
165. Iceland: Land of the Sagas – David Roberts
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