Graceling

4 Comments / 2009, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Favorites, Feminism, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

I wasn’t going to read Graceling because I am way behind and have a huge stack of books I need to read so that I can review them. Or read so that I can finish my challenges.

But TW insisted Graceling was good. Really good. And I wasn’t feeling very well, so a serious non-fiction book about a GI doctor seemed like less than perfect reading for a stomach flu kind of day.

TW was right. Graceling was really good. Another strong female character. A strong supporting female character. Male characters that run the range of good and evil, some that are a combo of both. And of course, there’s the “Grace”. How those who are graced are treated. What types of graces there are. Very interesting.

*Duh. Just realized the reason we had this book in the first place is that it was a Cybils book. Too bad it had so much competition in that category.*

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5 Ways to {blank} your blog

2 Comments / 2009, Books in Bed, Favorites, Non-Fiction, Women /

Deb Rocks is funny. She’s more than funny. It doesn’t matter if she’s leaving comments on BlogHer, or on Twitter or blogging. The woman makes people laugh. In a smart way.

Her book, 5 Ways to {blank} your blog is funny – in a smart way. Totally what I expected to see.

It’s full of laughs. Full of great blogs that you should visit. Full of smart tips, sometimes masked as non-tips.

Buy the book and then go {blank} your blog. It will be funny. We’ll all laugh with you… and probably at you.

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Kabul Beauty School

2 Comments / 2009, Books in Bed, Non-Fiction, Women /

Yes I’m just now getting around to reading Kabul Beauty School. Thank goodness for the From the Stacks Challenge because I’m sure if I didn’t force myself to do this challenge every year, a whole slew of great books I’ve purchased would go unread. Like this one.

There are just too many books and not enough damn time.

I liked it. I’ve heard a lot about it and was a little worried that I wouldn’t like it. There are a lot of non-fiction books, written by westerners, about Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan that I’ve just plain hated. Thank goodness, this wasn’t one of them.

I loved the story. I loved the idea of the beauty school. I loved a look at the people and the culture – and the culture clashes.

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Highway to Hell

2009, Books in Bed, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Women, Young Adult /

I didn’t mean to start reading Highway to Hell. I simply lost the book I was supposed to be reading and this one was nearby. If I had realized it was the third in the series, I’d have worked harder to find the book I’d lost. I hate reading a series out of order.

Maybe that’s why it took me so long to finish it?

Nah. It took me so long because I was a) exhausted post-BlogHerCon b) sick c) working my butt off.

If I hadn’t been experiencing all three of those things at once, I’d have finished it in a day. And probably enjoyed it a good bit more than I did.

It was a fun book. It must by YA but I’m too exhausted, sick and busy to double check. If it isn’t labeled YA, it should be.

Demons. Evil geniuses. Brujas. Great girl power characters.

I have the first two books in the series now and I look forward to going back and starting at the beginning.

**updated** No wonder the characters in this book seemed so familiar… we read book 1, Prom Dates from Hell in 2007. And loved it.

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Thaw

2009, Books in Bed, Cybil Challenge, Fiction, Young Adult /

Another Cybil down… Thaw was good but it’s another one of those books that adults think kids should read (and love) and I don’t think kids will.

And, it’s a BOY problem book. And boy does he have problems, GBS isn’t even his biggest problem. His biggest problem is that he’s an ASS and we get to blame his ASS of a dad.

I’d like to speak with a teenager who has read this one…

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