Since You've Been Gone

Y'ALL. I LOVE THIS BOOK.

Emily, the main character in Since You've Been Gone, is suddenly friendless. Her best friend Sloane disappeared at the beginning of what was supposed to be a great summer. Instead, Emily is at odds with nothing to do and no one to hang out with. Sloane didn't leave her new contact information, but did leave a To Do list for Emily. Emily starts working on the list and makes new friends, including her school's Golden Boy, Frank Porter. The blossoming romance between Emily and Frank gave me butterflies in my stomach. So cute. Emily's transformation over the summer is remarkable. The To Do list takes Emily out of her shell.

I'm always a fan of YA romances, especially when they are stand-alones like Since You've Been Gone. I liked this one so much I first read it in October of 2014. And I just reread it again. Also great is Matson's Second Chance Summer.

2012 Favorites

My goal for 2012 had been 175 books. Unfortunately, those months of feeling so shitty took their toll and I only hit 130. I have no idea what to expect when Camper (not her name, just her nickname til we decide on a name) comes so I think that if I set a goal for 2013, it will be low--maybe 75? That makes me a little sad, thinking about not having as much time to do something I enjoy so much, but I think I'm also judging that on my horrible Sept, Oct, and Nov when I didn't feel like I could do anything. Not having time or desire to read when Camper's here will be a different thing.

My 2012 favorites, in no particular order:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen  (classic)
I read an annotated version, which I loved. I think it gave me a much better understanding of the time period and therefore a greater appreciation of the book.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (young adult)

Maphead: The Wide, Weird World of Geogrpahy Wonks by Ken Jennings (non-fiction)

Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin (sociology, memoir)

Some of It Was Fun: Working with RFK and LBJ by Nicholas Katzenbach (history, memoir)
Katzenbach worked for the Justice Department in the 1960s and was on in the middle of the action on lots of different civil rights events.

Almost President: The Men Who Lost the Race but Changed the Nation by Scott Farris (history)
Farris profiled losers of presidential races. We've all probably heard of Henry Clay and William Jenning Bryan, but don't know much about them. I learned a lot of American history and really admired some of the losers.

The Bess Crawford series by Charles Todd (historical fiction, mystery)
This is a mystery series set in WWI England with Bess Crawford, a nurse, as the protagonist. 


While not a favorite, I'm still proud of myself for conquering the beast that is War and Peace.

2011 Favorites

How is it 2012? Does anyone remember watching Conan O'Brien before 2000 when he first started his "In the year 2000" skits? And now it's 2012? Geez.

Anyhow, being that time of the year, here's my list for favorites of 2011 in no particular order. The links go to my review of the book.

The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart (YA)

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (dystopian)

Shine by Lauren Myracle (YA, mystery)

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (classic, mystery)

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton (historical fiction, mystery)

A Thousand Lives by Julia Scheeres  (history, religion)

Spark by John Ratey (science, exercise)



The rest of my 5 star (on GR) books:

I'm Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley
Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman
Wildflower Hill by Kimberley Freeman
Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller
Scat by Carl Hiaasen
Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut (reread)
What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen (reread)
The Gulag Archipelago by Solheitzen
Second Helpings by Megan McCafferty (reread)
Perfect Fifths by Megan McCafferty (reread)
Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Steig Larsson
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Call Me Irresistible by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

My Top 10 Favorite Authors

No particular order:

1) Bill Bryson
2) George Orwell
3) Sarah Dessen
4) Jane Austen
5) Agatha Christie
6) Jon Krakauer
7) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
8) Tony Horwitz
9) Jacqueline Winspear
Tied for 10) Carl Hiaasen, Kerry Greenwood, Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich

Favorite Books of 2011, so far

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Spark by John Ratey

Shine by Lauren Myracle

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

The Gulag Archipelago by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, Review coming soon, I hope.

30 Days of Books: Childhood Favorite

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

I read this book in 5th grade for a book report. I've read it several times over the years. I still love this book as an adult, which I think says a lot about the book's quality. I've read it countless times. It's a funny smart book with enjoyable characters.

30 Days of Books: Favorite Male Character

Fitzwilliam Darcy

duh.

30 Days of Books: Favorite Book from Favorite Writer

1984 by George Orwell

I don't like dystopian novels, but I think this book is amazing, in a terrifying sort of way.

30 Days of Books: Favorite Author

George Orwell

Of course, this was a hard one to pick. I have lots of favorite authors. To name just a few: Bill Bryson, Agatha Christie, Sarah Dessen, and Jon Krakauer.

30 Days of Books: Favorite Classic

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

I have lots of classic favorites, including Persuasion by Jane Austen and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, but I chose The Scarlet Pimpernel becuase I think it's one people haven't read, at least in comparison to my other favorites.

The Scarlet Pimpernel is the story of an Englishman who saves French aristocrats from the guillotine during the French Revolution. It's a really fun read.

30 Days of Books: Most Underrated Book

The Colorado Kid by Stephen King

This is the only Stephen King book I've read. I gave it 5 stars on GR while the average is 3.06. I really really loved it. My impression of King is horror or supernatural books, but this was not. I wonder if that's why I feel it's underrated-it's not what people expect from King. The Colorado Kid is a great mystery and I loved the characters (the ones tell the story of the Colorado Kid.)

30 Days of Books: Favorite Book of Favorite Series

The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear

Loved it. This was such a great book in such a great series.

30 Days of Books: My Favorite Series

Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear

So far, there are eight books in the series. I haven't read the 8th one which came out a couple months ago. I loved the 7th one so much, I'm worried Winspear has written something about Maisie's path that I don't want to happen!

30 Days of Books: Favorite book of 2010

Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick

Nothing to Envy is the story of North Koreans living under Kim Jong Il's repressive regime. It was so eye opening and fascinating (in a horrible sort of way.)

A couple weeks ago in class, we were talking about social security and one of my students asked if anyone had read The Giver and seen the retirement plan in it. Another student immediately brought up 1984. I stopped what we were doing (talking about Congress) and showed this documentary on North Korea. I've had a couple students tell me it was the most interesting part of the class.

The video is streaming on netflix--watch it and read Nothing to Envy.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips

I love Susan Elizabeth Phillips. When I was in college, I read a lot of romance novels. These days I hardly ever pick up one. However, Susan Elizabeth Phillips remains a favorite author of mine.

Phillips has a new book, Call Me Irresistible, that came out last week. I am trying not to buy any books since I own so many so I'm hoping it'll show up at the library soon. But was thinking I wanted to read one of her books, so I checked an old one, Natural Born Charmer, out from the library.

And, yeah, it was as good as I remembered. I just love her books. Many, but not all, of her books are in a series about people connected to the fictional Chicago Stars football team. I think those are her best ones.

I'm sure I'm going to break down and buy Call Me Irresistible.

Top 10 of 10

Here's my 10 favorite books of 2010. There's no particular order to this list. The links are to my reviews.

Dirty Sexy Politics by Meghan McCain (memoir, politics)

Game Change by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin (politics)

Persuasion by Jane Austen (classic)

The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear (historical fiction, mystery)

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (young adult)

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (graphic novel, memoir)

River Town by Peter Hessler (memoir, travel)

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane (mystery, thriller)

Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick (non-fiction)

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger (young adult)

Top 10 of 2009

I'll post my top 10 of 2010 soon, but here's my 2009 top 10.

In no particular order (it's hard enough to narrow down to ten!):

Baghdad without a Map by Tony Horwitz (travel)

The Help by Kathryn Stockett (historical fiction)

The Help is set in early 60s Jackson, Mississippi. It's fascinating to see how different society is today compared to less than fifty years ago.

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert (historical fiction)

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (non-fiction)

I'd read Pollan's The Omivore's Dilemma in 2008 and enjoyed it. This book, however, was more than enjoyable and has stuck in my brain for months. It's mantra is simple: Eat food. not too much. Mostly plants.

The Colorado Kid by Stephen King (mystery)

Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear (mystery, historical fiction)

Flipped by Wendelin van Draanen (young adult)

I have a weird relationship with young adult books. I mostly enjoy them, but sometimes think they are a bit of a cheat since usually they are very quick reads. This was a quick read that I finished in less than two hours. However, it was a great story. I love coming-of-age stories and this was one I really enjoyed.

Jessica Darling series by Megan McCafferty (young adult/general fiction)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (mystery)

The Last Season by Eric Blehm (non-fiction)

I love mysteries--real and fiction. This book is the true story of a park ranger who goes missing and the mystery of what happened.

Essential Classics

Last year, Penguin Books came out with an Essential Classics collection. The list included:

• Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
• Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
• Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
• The Odyssey, Homer
• Hamlet, Shakespeare
• Moby Dick, Herman Melville
• Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
• Oedipus, Sophocles
• Walden, Henry David Thoreau
• The Inferno, Dante Alighieri
  

Since any such list is going to draw lots of opinions, they are asking for votes for a new list.

Here's my list (not limited to the options on their survey):

• To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
• The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
• 1984, George Orwell
• Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
• Persuasion, Jane Austen
• The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
  
• Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
• Hard Times, Charles Dickens

These aren't necessarily my favorite classics, but ones I think should be at the top of your list to read in part to know what they are about and part that they cover a mix of issues and time periods.

If I were talking favorite classics I'd have to list as my top 10:

• Burmese Days, George Orwell
• A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift
• The Scarlet Pimpernel, Emmuska Orczy
• Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
• Persuasion, Jane Austen
  
• The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
• Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
• The Hound of the Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
• Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
  

Persuasion

I recently reread Persuasion. It might be my favorite Jane Austen novel. I'll have to reread Pride and Prejudice to be sure, but I think I'll still lean to Persuasion. (Now, the BBC P&P miniseries is another story. I could watch Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy all day long.)

I know the plot of Persuasion, but still cried at the end. It is just that good!

If you like Jane Austen and haven't read this one yet, you need to pick it up. You don't have an excuse since it's one of the many books you can get free for your Kindle or Nook. You can thank me later.

My Top 10 of 10

I started a preliminary list of my top books for 2010 since we've hit the halfway point. It's a separate page, so if you just read this in your google reader click here to see what I've got.