... is on sale!
I love my Kindle Paperwhite
Why do I love it?
- Re-sizeable text! I have bad eyesight and this makes reading so much easier!
- My library supports Kindle! That means lots of free books to read on the Kindle. I can't get everything this way, but I am able to check out quite a few ebooks and save a ton of money.
- I can read outside! I can't do that on my iPad, and I don't think I would really want to sit by a pool with my iPad anyway.
- The light! It's super easy to adjust the light to make things easy to read -- day or night.
if you are contemplating purchasing an eBook reader, I highly recommned the Kindle Paperwhite -- I really, truly love using mine.
by Susan Beal has been all over the blogs lately and I simply couldn't resist. I ran out to B&N to grab a copy and -- get this -- they didn't have it. Argh! Why are "local" bookstores going out of business? Because they aren't stocking the books people want. 
. I've had Rushdie on my "to read" list for ages, but I think this might be the first time I've read him -- it won't be the last, however. The book was wonderful! An old time fairy tale bringing together deities from all ages and cultures which lent it an ageless feel, yet superimposed on top of that was a video game construct which brought it right up to date. I was delighted and fascinated by this book and would liken it to something from Gaiman or Pullman.
by Aimee Bender. Maddie and I just started laughing because I have looked for this book every time we have gone to the library for months. I actually had no idea what it was about, but longed to read it for some reason or another. 
by Joe Haldeman because I enjoyed his 
so much.
, I was ready for a few quick reads. First up was Joe Haldeman's 
by Daniel Woodrell which I finished yesterday. I saw that it was made into a film that was nominated for an Academy Award, then my niece mentioned the film to me, and my husband told me he picked up the book at a library sale a while back. While I read it quite quickly, I'm not sure how I feel about Woodrell's style. At times I felt almost lost as he had Ree, the main character, running from place to place searching for her father. There is brutality and tragedy in this story of poverty in the hills of the Ozarks, but also some lovely moments and perhaps a less complicated plot (with fewer characters) would have sufficed here. I am interested in seeing how this translated to film.
and 
are contenders.
by Justin Cronin, which took me just over two weeks to read, thus blowing my average for 2011. I've now read 12 books, and am averaging a book every 5.4 days. 
by Madeleine L'Engle because my 10 year old daughter told me that I should, and I was at that weak point between books when I always feel a bit desperate. In fact, I'm usually only between books for mere minutes, if not seconds, and rarely will go to sleep before at least reading the first few pages of the "next" book. If I don't have a stockpile of books in waiting, I feel a bit frantic and will wander around the house going from bookcase to bookcase muttering about how "there is nothing to read in this house!" to which my loving family merely shake their heads.
a little over a year ago and loved them, and while I faintly remember reading them in my youth, I had no recollection of their subject matter.
by Kathryn Stockett, and I'm pretty sure my opinion of the book will not be very popular. I've heard so much praise for this book by so many people, that perhaps I had expectations that could not be met.
by Gary Shteyngart, who also wrote 
which was a bit of a hit a few years ago. In fact, I wonder if this book wasn't rushed -- taken to market quickly in order to capture some of the prior books fame. It wasn't a bad book, but it could have used some serious editing -- an all too common problem in this day and age. It's a near future story of an old man (read 40) in the digital, youth driven age where all human interaction seems to have shrunk to twitter-like commentary on data spewing personal electronic devices. I see what he was trying to do here, but I didn't love his execution of the concepts.
by Amy Greene, which I pretty much loved. It's a generation spanning novel about people living in the Appalachian Mountains. The story switches voices -- weaving in and out from one character and generation to another. The pacing was very nice, the writing was sparse enough to match the story and the characters were engaging. I highly recommend this debut novel and look forward to seeing what Greene will write next.
, which I had thrifted at some point in the past -- most likely at either Goodwill or the used bookstore (The Book Market at 2368 Plainfield Road in Crest Hill). If you haven't heard of this book, which was turned into a movie some time ago, you may of hear of Ishiguro's other big seller -- 
which was more recently made into a film that got some hype this past year.
and Greg Bear's 
.
and China Mieville's 
. The first a story of a fateful meeting on a Nigerian beach, the second an alternate history/sci-fi tale concerning two (or perhaps, three?) cities that occupy the same space. Both wonderful and very different.
which won a ton of awards, including the Hugo and Nebula. It's a timely tale of the future as it could be if genetic alterations go awry. Really compelling reading which sucks you in.
by Elizabeth Strout -- picked this up and the used bookstore over the weekend
by David Mitchell -- I've read several of his books now and loved them, so this is a no brainer. And I hear that it's a bit of an homage to Murakami -- of whom I am a fan. 
and I can honestly say that no other knitting books that I've seen lately have made me want to swatch more than this book. It is filled with charts, tips and even projects that make you want to take out all the colorful yarn you can find and knit.
so much, that I decided to read 
-- the only other Haruf book I hadn't yet read. I'm sad to say that I've now read all 4 of his novels, and I'm left wanting more from this amazing author.
. Not a difficult read by any means, I found this book to be fast-paced and quite enjoyable (in a brutal sort of way). In some respects, the book reminded me a bit of certain Margaret Atwood novels.
-- which I'm sure will lead me to dive into the last book -- 
.
, I decided to bring it home.
left off. Haruf mesmerizes, throwing you into the lives of his characters which are so real and face such real problems, that you almost feel that you know them once the book is finished.
by my all time favorite writer -- Kurt Vonnegut. This book can really only be explained as dizzying. While the main story follows Dwayne Hoover's descent into madness, Kilgore Trout, the author, or Vonnegut's alter ego, is along for the ride -- or perhaps he's the one driving. It's all rather crazy and meta and wild -- plus Vonnegut's illustrations are sprinkled throughout. A fun, yet complex read. 
, but my favorite was probably 
.
which is excellent.
by Kim Stanley Robinson
which was a bit of a struggle for me.
. I use this cookbook *all the time*! I can't stress this enough -- this is an *awesome* cookbook!
by Margaret Atwood. Powerful.
and 
respectively.
perhaps.
was a *much* better book.
for only $1. I'm a sucker for beautiful cookbooks and this one is that, but it also has some great, doable recipes. In fact, last night I made a pasta recipe from it using my own homegrown Amish Paste tomatoes and it was easy, quick and super delicious. 
I picked up yesterday (and used last night to make the pasta sauce!) Last year I spent way too much time peeling and seeding plum tomatoes by hand. A task which I did not enjoy in the least. This nifty gadget separates the seeds and skin from the tomatoes and spits each out into it's own bowl. *So* much easier! And it was very easy to clean the press which is a plus. Great investment for me for sure. 
. Maddie has braces and this has made life much easier! Quick, easy, so much less messy than cutting sweet corn off the cob with a knife -- plus the thing is very easy to clean.
which was written in a similar, uniquely Mitchell style. Now I need to find a copy of 
is the second book in Robert J. Sawyer's latest trilogy. Here we have a further exploration into the results of a sentience growing out of the world wide web. Thought provoking and entertaining -- I'm looking forward to the third and final book which I believe is expected out next year.
was everything I expected from award winning author Kim Stanley Robinson and then some. Here we have a compelling story mixed with historical content as well as passages which take you into the beautiful yet desolate landscape that is Antarctica. Not a quick read by any means, but if you are a Robinson fan you have likely made it through the Mars trilogy, so I'm sure you are up for the challenge.
by Hilary Thayer Hamann, but I just wasn't feeling it. It wasn't a bad book, and I was flying through it, but the timing wasn't right. I wanted something light and easy, so I turned to comfort reading -- in this case a book about comfort food...
is a ridiculously easy read. Conversational in tone, it might remind you of reading your favorite food blog as you read about the author's sometimes comical attempts at finding the magic formula for recreating a loaf of bread he sampled just once, years before.
. I was afraid they would lay down and die in the wake of the iPad -- being relegated to becoming a mere app.
is now only $189. I have one and love it, so I thought I would let you know -- just in case you've been depriving yourself because it was too pricey. 
is a tale of isolation and guilt. Lucy makes a rash decision in her youth and suffers for it for the remainder of her life. The setting here reminds me of the setting of his 
, which was haunting and beautiful. Truly a wonderful writer.
. The ideas here are quite interesting and his main character was likable enough to engage me in the story completely. Some of the jumps he takes are a bit hard to swallow, which would temporarily pull me out of the story, but all in all, a fascinating read. The second book -- 
-- a strange, yet engrossing novel that explores the ways writers can write about the Holocaust in an age when most survivors are gone. A weird little book with a main character who seems to be Martel in disguise, I was sucked into the story, but don't feel it was entirely successful in delivering its message. (And I'm still holding a bit of a grudge against Martel for the ending of 
.)
. Now when I first heard about this book, my excitement was difficult to contain. I've read everything he had written and couldn't wait for more. At the same time, I watched as the press sensationalized what I figured would be much less controversial than it at first appeared. 
which was actually the first book in the series.
and enjoying it thoroughly. Although it took a while for me to get engaged in the story, I'm now completely caught up in the lives of Taylor, Turtle, and all the other wonderful characters Kingsolver has created.
for Nintendo DS. If you love puzzles, this is a must have.
. It started out okay, the characters seemed somewhat interesting and even a bit quirky. The themes were developing nicely and I had hope that a plot might appear at some point. Then the gods started arriving, and the damnable expository passages that I dread so much virtually took over the novel. 
-- and didn't get very far. I'm all for beautiful writing, but there has to be something else there -- a story to move the action forward. His books read more like essays than novels, and leave me wanting.
. (This is the guy who wrote the book 
-- yeah, that TV show is based on it.)
as my daughter is a Pokemon fanatic -- seriously. Name a Pokemon and she know all its stats. Plus lots of 
since our vacation is coming up and I want to be able to eat any goodies I desire without any guilt. 
by Hilary Mantel -- an historical novel set in Henry VIII's kingdom in the 16th century.
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