Monday, April 23, 2012

here, have a book!

it's WORLD BOOK NIGHT, and i'm a giver!

don't know what that means?  CHECK IT OUT!

Monday, April 2, 2012

month the fifth.

it's been five months.  five freaking months since i bought a book.  i only have 29 days until the ban is lifted.

my best bud asked me if i think, once the ban is over, i will continue not to buy books because of the guilt/shame i will inevitably feel for breaking a six-month-long streak.  i had to think about this.  on the one hand, yes, i will definitely feel guilty when i make that first book purchase.  but i did what i set out to do--i followed the rules and didn't slip.  so, maybe i can keep the self-shame down enough to buy books again.

it's been a very busy month full of taking care of family, grading, and gardening, so my reading list is light, but here's what i've been up to:


Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Lost Mysteries of World Way II --Robert Kurson

Format: Audio

Obtained: Library

Thoughts:  Awesome!  Thanks, Amanda J., for the recommendation.  This is probably one of the best narrative non-fiction books I've ever read.  It is thoroughly interesting all the way through as Kurson takes great care to fully develop not just the story of the submarine but also of the men involved in the discovery.  I highly recommend this one 

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Format: eBook

Obtained: Already owned

Thoughts:  I read this series about a year ago and loved it then.  Since the movie was coming out this month, I decided to reread the first of the trilogy to refresh my memory.  Again, I enjoyed it.









Feed - M.T. Anderson


Format: Audio

Obtained: Library


Thoughts:  Everything about this book sounds like I'd like it.  I didn't.  It felt too forced to me--to busy.  I stopped midway through with no intention of picking it back up.





 

A World I Never Made - James LePore


Format: eBook

Obtained: Barnes & Nobel Free Book Fridays


Thoughts:  Eh.  This was fine.  Sure, it has a little suspense and a bit of mystery.  It's not nearly as good as Chandler or Hammett.  I would read them instead.





The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot


Format: Audio

Obtained: Library


Thoughts:  This book had been on my TBR list for a long time, so I finally broke down and checked it out.  It was good--a really interesting look not just at the science behind HELA cells but the family that provided them. Skloot does a good job weaving the stories together.




Devil Bones - Kathy Reichs


Format: Print

Obtained: Already owned


Thoughts:  I love the TV series Bones, so I thought I would take a look at the book series that started it all.  I'm just beginning this one, but so far it's engaging and interesting.







Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - The Pearl Poet


Format: Print

Obtained: Already owned


Thoughts:  Gawain is one of those texts that I look back on fondly, thinking I love it so much.  It's good.  It's not my favorite.