2007

Deliver Us from Evie

2007, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction, Queer, Young Adult /

I saw Lee’s review of Deliver Us from Evie and started to think I had never read it. So I reserved it at the library, a little M.E. Kerr every now and then is good for all of us, right? Turns out I have read it. But it was still fun to read it again. M.E. Kerr always does a good job of giving us characters who could easily be real. They don’t behave oddly, they feel exactly like the people in your family or in your school or your church or your neighborhood. They’re real.

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Kilt Dead

2007, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Fiction, Mystery /

I can’t remember how I stumbled upon Kilt Dead – is it written by the author who did that Garden Spells book? Or maybe that tea shop in Charleston mystery? Whatever. I know I reserved it because I was amused by the title, that’s a great way to choose a book, right?

It’s a great title but not a great book. Not a bad book, either. Just what you’d expect. A little chick lit. A little mystery.

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Dishwasher: One Man’s Quest etc…

2007, Books in Bed, Favorites, Non-Fiction /

Do not let the fact that it took me more than a week to finish Dishwasher: One Man’s Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States stop you from picking this book up today. I loved it. Maybe because I’m a fan of dishwashing? Or maybe because I’m a fan of fringe jobs, fringe people, fringe lifestyles. Or maybe because it was just fun.

It left me with a longing to start my own 50 state challenge. It left me wondering which Italian restaurant he dished at in Gainesville. It left me disappointed that I had never stumbled across the Dishwasher Zine.

I loved the book and love Dishwasher Pete.

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Fathers and Sons: Autobiography of a Family

2007, Books in Bed, Don't Read This, Non-Fiction, Queer /

OK. Well. I finished Fathers and Sons: Autobiography of a Family. I don’t really recommend it – unless you are a fan of one of the Waughs. I am not. Why I spent more than a week reading this is really beyond me.

I thought it would be interesting. And I guess it was. But it was also tiresome. The Waugh men – ugh. Just, UGH. That’s about all I can say. Some woman in their lives should have just shaken them – or shot them. (I should say that the author of the book I don’t necessarily include in the shaken or shot idea. He seems like a nice enough guy and he survived generations of Waugh fathering. I’ll reserve judgment though until his children write their books.)

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Garden Spells

2 Comments / 2007, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Fiction, Women /

And to think I almost didn’t bother reading Garden Spells because I’m so far behind on my TBR list and haven’t even come close to finishing my A to Z challenge. I’d have missed a fun piece of chick lit.

A quirky southern town with all of the appropriate quirky characters, with magic and a bad guy and true love and also the token gay story line tossed in for good measure.

Excellent light reading. Almost made me want an apple.

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The Titan’s Curse

1 Comment / 2007, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Favorites, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

We’ve been looking forward to Percy Jackson and The Titan’s Curse for a long time. But, when I started reading it – I was afraid I was going to be very disappointed. It took me a few chapters to really get into it, that hasn’t happened with any of the other Percy Jackson books.

Thankfully, once the Oracle spoke things picked up and I read it just as quickly as I could – putting it down only when I had to get some work done. Now I’m back to being excited for the next one. Did Riordan announce the title of Percy 4 yet? Darn – not yet, but very soon.

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An Abundance of Katherines

1 Comment / 2007, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction, Young Adult /

Remember when sassymonkey raved about An Abundance of Katherines? I sort of ignored her gushing over the book because she has this Brotherhood/John Green thing. Like she’d marry him. Which is wrong ’cause of the patriarchy but tells you just how strong her John Green thing is. People with that strong of a thing for someone tend to see greatness when the rest of us see uh less than greatness. But in this case, sassymonkey was right.

An Abundance of Katherines is good. It’s great actually. One of the best YA books ever. I hope it becomes a legend, a classic must read for teens in generations to come. It’s just that good.

TW and I listened to it on audio and that was fun. I’m going to pick up a copy of the book so that I can see the appendix and the footnotes – were the footnotes read out loud in the audio version and we didn’t realize they were footnotes? Were they the “asides” Colin shared? I am not sure but I think they were. Regardless, the book deserves a place on our bookshelves. Yours too.

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And She Was…

2007, Books in Bed, Feminism, Fiction, Women /

And She Was… what? That’s the question, what was she? Who was she? Why in the heck did I spend almost a full week trying to read this book? The answer to the last question is the easy one – because Staci and TW both recommended it. While TW has steered me wrong in the past, Staci has not, so I stuck it out.

Mostly I’m left with, “huh?” But the last half of the book DID interest me and I had high hopes. Unfortunately, once I was finished, I just felt let down. It could have been really good. In places it WAS really good. Aleut mummies, women power, Alaskan bars – what’s not to love? Unfortunately, a lot. It could have been SO good. But it wasn’t.

(Don’t feel badly Staci, I’ll still read what you recommend in the future.)

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