The Secret Life of Dresses was a wee bit sadder than I expected it to be. I really wanted a slightly different ending because… sad! I loved the dresses and Mimi, I just wish I’d gotten to know her better – ya know?
I do love how the stories of the dresses came to be – that was fabulous. And I am dying to just surf A Dress A Day for awhile – but I have work to do. Maybe this weekend. J
The Secret Life of Dresses Read More »
I’m going to try and take do a better job of tracking my book challenges and stuff in 2012 and I thought a good way to do that would be to do a month in review on the last day of every month – so here’s the first shot at it.
– Audio books – still, yes STILL, listening to The Marriage Plot. (We may never finish – even though I’m enjoying it.)
– Steampunk – 1
– Adoption – 0
– Queer – 2
– From the Stacks – 1
– Cybils – 0
– Nancy Drew – 0
– 1001 Books to Read Before You Die and 1001 Books to Read Before you Get Old – well I looked at both lists. I made a cursory shot at figuring out which ones I’ve read and have determined, nope. Can’t even begin to think about doing either of these. There are too many books and not enough time. Maybe when I retire. Or something.
Total books read – 11 12
Total books quit – 1
Print books still in progress – 1 0
– YA – 6
– Non-fiction – 1
– Graphic Novels – 1
Oy. I need to pick up the pace a bit, don’t I?
A Month of Books – January Read More »
Twisted is another piece of great YA fiction from Laurie Halse Anderson – this one about a boy with a whole lot of problems, most of which are related to dysfunctional family issues. I wasn’t sure I was going to like the book. It started with a teen boy working off his community service hours after spray painting his high school. Turns out, spray painting the high school was a good decision – compared to the what he really thought about doing.
I liked Tyler. I liked Hannah and Yoda too. And I liked a good number of the adults in the story, as well. And the ending – pretty much perfect.
First, we tried a dog kennel but Wilma tried to hang herself with that within a couple of hours.
Next, we tried a pet store cat cage but the three girls destroyed that one in just a few months.
After that, we tried a small animal cage which lasted almost a year. The rust was beginning to be a problem, as was the fact that they are all three very good at getting stuck in the little holes that hold held the ramps in place. Loss of toes/feet/legs was not something we were interested in experiencing more of.
So, we have a new cage. It’s big and it caused quite a commotion today. All three have been very busy exploring it (trying to break it) and getting things all set up the way they want them.
Let’s hope this one lasts. And nobody loses a limb.
How did Mozart really die? Was he poisoned? And by whom? And why? Mozart’s Last Aria is about Mozart’s sister and her efforts to find the answers to those questions – and in the process, we see Mozart as a bit of a radical feminist, which was kind of nifty. Fun little whodunit and Madame Mozart is fabulous, as are all of the female characters in the book. The guys aren’t bad, but it’s the women who are best – much like in The Magic Flute…
Mozart’s Last Aria Read More »
TW and I argued over who put this one in the library bag. I’m sure I did – she’s sure she did, even though she did not bother to read it and was going to return it to the library without reading it (or without giving me a chance to read it. I rescued it from the return bin and I’m darn glad I did. The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt was the perfect late night read last night, after finishing John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars.
The scrapbook images were fun. The scrapbook text was a lot like a diary, which made it an actual book to read. I liked it. I even liked the happily ever after ending for the Vassar feminist of the 40s.
The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt Read More »
I hate kid cancer books. Kind of like the kids in The Fault in Our Stars hate cancer books, ok maybe not like they do – since I’m not a kid with cancer, but still – hate them. I just hate them.
The only redeeming value in this one (and it’s a big redeeming value) is that John Green wrote it. That pretty much says all you need to know. And all I’m going to say since I don’t want to give any spoilers or anything remotely spoiler-ish.
The kids are great. Their parents are nicely written. The stupid author, who is so NOT John Green, is well done. I loved the wish genies. IN the heart of Jesus – brilliant. And yes, I even cried a bit at the end – even though I was SURE I wouldn’t.
The Fault in Our Stars Read More »
The Taker is excellent, I’m glad I read it and didn’t just return it to the library because it wasn’t on my original TBR list. It’s not about vampires, but about people who become immortal through alchemy. I’ll admit the first couple of chapters had me rolling my eyes about a vampire book that doesn’t have vampires, but it’s better than that. Really interesting and I’m excited about the second book in the trilogy, coming in June. When I finished the book last night, I was left wondering a lot of things – about Adair and Lanore and Luke.
Bad Girls Don’t Die was pretty creepy. All of those dolls. * Shudder *
And fire. There was fire. And fire has been freaking me out lately.
I’m not sure I really understood the need for the Carter storyline but I didn’t hate it, really. I found the missing father more troubling. The reaction to his accident by the girls and their mother – weird. And I don’t think it was related to the evil doll, either.
Creepy. Weird. But a quick, fun read.
Bad Girls Don’t Die Read More »
