Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

Category: Classic, literary fiction

Published: 1911

Review: 4/5 stars

As I was reading Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton I wondered why it was a classic. It wasn't until I finished it and was able to look at the whole picture that I realized it's beauty. I don't know how to describe it without giving away too many plot points so I will just say that it is worth the read. I read this for book club so I will post a Book Club Report soon and talk much more about the book then.

The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist

Category: Sci-Fi/Fantasy?

Published: 2009, 272 pgs.

Review: 3.5/5 stars

Set in a not-so-distant future in Sweden, The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist is a novel about what might happen if society decided that a person's contribution to the nation became more important than the individual himself. Dorrit Weger begins her story as she is being placed in the unit, a facility where childless individuals who reach the age of 50 or 60 are taken to be used in humane medical and psychiatric tests. They have very nice accommodations and want for nothing in the way of physical comforts but they are essentially guinea pigs. They live there in the unit with no communication to the outside world and participate in different medical trials until they make their final donation, such as a liver, lungs, heart, etc.

I had a hard time putting this book down. I just really wanted to know what was going to happen. I liked and cared about the characters. I did have a few problems with the book though. For one, it just was too implausible. The way everything was described it seemed like the unit could exist now rather than the future. There was talk of DVDs and CDs and the technology just wasn't futuristic. For me that made it feel so close to present day that I couldn't accept that a government or a society would allow this kind of treatment of people. If something is placed far enough in the future than it seems more credible to me and I can swallow the premise better. I think I didn't get into the story quite as much as I would have liked to because it just wasn't believable to me. That being said, I did like the book. I have to warn you though that this does not come even close to qualifying as a "good, clean read."

Rating: 4.1.4 There are several descriptions of sex that I felt were gratuitous and unnecessary. I really don't mind if there is some sex in a book (you may find that hard to believe considering the premise of my blog) but it never has to be described as thoroughly as it is in this book. There were also two instances of very harsh language and a smattering of lighter profanity.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Category: YA, science fiction

Published: 2008, 374 pages

Review: 5/5 stars

I started this book one evening last week and forced myself to put it down to go to bed. The next morning I picked it up again and couldn't put it down until I finished it that afternoon. The kids did whatever they wanted and the house was a crazy mess when I finally came up for air. It's been a long time since I've been that engrossed in a book. It was so much fun.

I'm not going to bother telling you much about this book. I've seen reviews for it everywhere and I don't remember anyone not liking it. It has everything a page turner needs; love, hate, danger, politics, death, and much more. I can't wait for the next book coming in September.

Rating: 1.4.2 The violence in this book is a little rough at times. The whole concept is pretty disturbing. Not for the faint of heart. (It's kind of funny that the nudity in this book didn't bother me like the nudity in Book of a Thousand Days. In this book it seemed fairly natural but in the other it seemed weird to me. I might be crazy.)

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

Category: YA, fantasy, romance

Published: 2007

Review: 4/5 stars

After I finished reading this book I felt stupid when I read the book description on the inside of the jacket cover. It describes the book as a retelling of a Grimms fairy tale "reimagined and reset on the central Asian steppes." Duh! I had spent the first chapters imagining the characters as blond-haired and blue eyed. Then even when there were some sketches of people who looked Asian I had a hard time changing what was in my head. But I should have known from the beginning when it referred to the leaders of the people with the title of Khan that this story was set somewhere like Mongolia long ago. It also calls some areas of the land "the steppes." I think I would have enjoyed this book a little more if I'd had the right pictures in my mind.

I know a lot of people have loved this book and although I enjoyed it a lot, I didn't love it. I think I expected too much because I had heard so many great things about it. I do recommend it but it didn't grab me like I wanted it to.

Rating: 2.2.1 There were a couple of places with nudity that I thought were a little weird. Maybe I'm such a prude that I can't even read about nudity without feeling a little uncomfortable.

Coming soon

I can't believe what a crazy month this has been. I am so behind on reviews but I'm determined to get them posted. Here's what will be coming soon:

Reviews:
The Graveyard Book
Book of a Thousand Days
Inkheart
Inkspell
The Miracles of Santo Fico
plus many more...

Book Club Reports:
The Alchemist
The Wednesday Wars
My Name is Asher Lev
The Miracles of Santo Fico

List of 25 of my own books to read before the end of the year.
Lists of award winning books that I have read or plan to read.

There's so much to write about. I don't think I will be able to write very long or even very good reviews for the books I've read lately but I just need to get them done. Thanks for your patience with me.

My Own Book Challenge

My parents were here last weekend. We were in Costco when I was browsing in the book section and told my parents how I was addicted to books. My dad said, "I know. You have books all over the house. You'll never read them all." Well now all I want to do is prove him wrong (even at 35 years old I want to do exactly what he tells me I can't do). I haven't really joined many challenges this year so I'm going to start my own challenge--read my own books as much as possible. Hmm...I think I'll challenge myself to read 25 by the end of the year. That will put a decent dent in my stacks and then maybe I can finish reading all my books by the end of the 2010. I feel good about that. I will have to put this off for a little longer because I have a couple of books from the library right now that I've waited months for so I don't want to get back on the waiting list.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Category: Modern Classic, Fiction
Published: 1954
Audiobook
Review: 4/5 stars

This is another one of those books that is hard to review. I could give it anything between 3 and 5 stars. I recognize that it is regarded as a classic and I think the distinction is well deserved. I wouldn't say that I particularly enjoyed it, though. I'm glad I listened to it but it is rather a disturbing story. The audiobook I listened to was read by William Golding himself, and I quite liked that about it. In the beginning he tells a little bit about how the book came to be and then he starts reading and it feels like you are sitting there in the room while he reads from the book. He doesn't use different voices for the different characters; he just reads it and reads it well. There is a short interview at the end that is also very interesting. While I was listening to the book I found myself thinking that I just wanted to get it over with but once I was done with it I was very glad to have read it. I finally decided on 4 stars even though my personal enjoyment of it was more like 3 stars.

Rating: 1.3.2 There are some scenes of violence along with disturbing images and a little bit of mild profanity.