Book Report

I think I want to start tracking the books I read somewhere.  And, I guess this will be the place for now.  I doubt I'll say much about each book, just a sentence or two, but you can always google it if you want more info.

Since Christmas I've finished:

Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien -the first one.  I read this like a real book.  My dad lent me his hardback copy, but it was all three novels and I couldn't hold the dang thing.  I ended up borrowing a paperback from Jodi.  We read it for my mom's book club.  Mostly because it was a book that we all had on our 'to-read' list and had never got around to it.  Since we didn't meet in December (so we had twice as long) we decided to read it.  It was okay.  I'm not sure it was as great as some reviews and best of book lists say it is, but I'm glad I read it.  And I think Peter Jackson did a great job with the movies.

This Much I Know Is True by Wally Lamb.  I started this in California with the audio book.  I had read another one of his, The Hour I First Believed and really liked it.  There is a bit of language in his books and he usually has at least one scene that might embarrass a few people.  I think he's a good writer and keeps his reader interested the entire length of the book (which is usually pretty long).  This one was about a set of twins, one with bipolar disease and how the other deals with it.

Never Let Me Go, Kasuo Ishiguro.  I listened to the audio book.  (I've really gotten into audio books since my one day California trip -thanks, dad).  This is another one that I had see the movie before I read the book.  I liked it a lot better than the last one I read from the same author.  Kind of like a dystopian story that was quite interesting.

Anthem by Ayn Rand.  I discovered the free app from the library and this was one of audio books on there.  It only took 2 hours to listen to.  This was a short one for Ayn Rand.  I've never read one of her books before -have you SEEN how big Fountainhead is?  I was curious about her writing, and probably wouldn't mind reading some of her other works.  I think this one in most releases is around 250 pages, pretty much a novella compared to her other novels.  It's another dystopian story.

The Litigators by John Grisham.  Another audio book.  My gym time is coming in handy getting extra books in.  I haven't read a John Grisham book for ages, they all started to get too familiar.  This one is much of the same but he is a good story teller and there were enough little turns at the end to keep it interesting.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.  I read this in school, along with just about every other student in the country.  I've joined another book club, one where we will read books that had been banned or challenged at one point.  This is the first one we're reading.  I'll be honest, I sort of forgot most of the details near the end, so it made it a great read.  Not that this one isn't a great read anyway, no wonder it's read so often.  I actually purchased this book (haven't done that for ages, I'm a fan of the library).  I figured that one of our kids will eventually read this too and unless they start issuing iPads (which may happen, who knows) in junior high, we'll have a copy.

I'm currently reading:

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey.  This is another free one from the library.  I've seen the movie, years ago, probably also forgotten a lot of details so it's sort of new to me.  I noticed it mostly because it's one that was on our banned books list, so just in case we read it, I'll have it fresh on my mind.  I'm about half way through it, slightly disturbing but the language isn't horrible.  I can't remember why this one has been banned in the past, but I think it get's a bit more graphic later on.

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion.  This is the first book I'm reading on my new Nook Tablet.  Which is sort of why I'm reading it.  It's my turn to pick the book next month in our mom's book club, so I made sure no one had read this one and picked it.  I'm a little worried about being in two book clubs -hoping to get ahead a little on reading.  I didn't realize it was a memoir which follows the year following the authors husbands death.  It's an award winning book and so far I like it.

I usually don't have quite this long of a list, I was nearly done with Lord of the Rings and the Wally Lamb book by the time Christmas came along too, so that is probably why it's so long too.