Songbirdz's 75

I don't know if I can do 75 with 2 young ones, but I still want to try! I'm trying to make it a point to not read the same genre all the time, but to branch out more. Here's to hoping!

So far...

1. The Friday Night Knitting Club
2. The Heretic's Daughter
3. Tan Lines
4. Last Dragon (Discoveries)
5. Smoke and Mirrors
6. The Stand
7. Confessor
8. Kushiel's Justice
9. Kushiel's Scion
10. Stealing Athena 173 pages

The Stand is one of my favorite Stephen King books. I read it a long, long time ago.

Welcome to the group, Songbirdz! Be prepared for plenty of comments and questions. We are a pretty lively bunch.

Yup. Oh, and after having read The Stand years ago, I picked a copy today at a flea market for $2.50! So now it's back on the TBR list...Did you like it?

Hi guys! A friend originally loaned The Stand to me, thinking I would like it, and I'm happy he did. I wound up loving it! Even though it's fictional, it gives me the creeps that something similar could actually happen to us one day. I tried reading other Stephen King books though... just wasn't doing it for me.

I haven't read anything by S. King but have his book Duma Key. Anyone know if it's any good?

A little off the subject... how do you post your books on the blog so they'll show up blue and link to the actual book?

I thought Duma Key was his best in years. It's got great characters and a slowly building plot to a creepy ending. Give it a try and let us know what you think!

Duma Key is definitely one of King's best in a long time. You should enjoy it a great deal. I am also still beating the drum for Blaze which I thought was as good as Duma Key. A wonderful take on Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, using a ghost and a developmentally disabled crook.

Haven't read much of Stephen King, but really liked The Green Mile. The character sketch of even the mouse was was quite amazing and I guess its one of his less dark works (when you compare it to something like The Shining)

10. Stealing Athena
11. So Long at the Fair
12. The Gargoyle - Currently Reading

I thought Athena was an awesome book, Fair was kinda meh (to me, anyway,) and so far Gargoyle is interesting. Judging from posts of latest arrivals to hit mailboxes, looks like I have a few more on the way to keep me busy, yay!

#10: I put Stealing Athena on hold at my library. It sounds like something I would really enjoy. Thanks for the recommendation!

I'm heading to my library today to see if I can obtain a copy of this. But first, next on my list is Half a Yellow Sun

I also note The Gargoyle on many posts. Are you liking this book thus far?

In no specific order..

13. When We Were Romans
14. I, robot
15. American Wife
16. Ghost Hunting: True Stories of Unexplained Phenomena from The Atlantic Paranormal Society - got this one at a book signing with the Ghost Hunters. Huuuge line, since they're local celebrities!
17. The Grift
18. Phenomena Secrets of the Senses by Donna M. Jackson - Little Brown book.. pretty cool for the middle grade kids.
19. Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth Xiaolu Guo

6 more books on my TBR pile.. Hopefully I can knock one or two off this weekend.

20. Last Night I Dreamed of Peace by Dang Thuy Tram

Currently reading : Guernica

I told my oldest daughter I was looking for When We Were Romans and she told me she didn't think she ever had been.

What did you think of Last Night I Dreamed of Peace? I put it on hold at my local library.

What an amazing story. Yes, did you enjoy the book? Comments, please!!!!

21. Guernica by Dave Boling
22. Bone By Bone by Carol O'Connell

Current : My Father's Paradise

Last Night I dreamed of Peace.. kinda depressed me actually. Thuy was one heck of a brave lady, serving others to the best of her capacity, while taking care not to be caught by the Americans. She was everything you would have wanted in a doctor : she was smart, compassionate, willing to learn and teach.. She was very human, and in a lot of her entries you see her trying to encourage and give herself practical advice.. She has my admiration for sure.
The thing that really annoyed the heck out of me though, was that in the introduction, they tell you that she died. If it wasn't for that, I think I could have been more hopeful and optimistic that things would be ok for her, that she would survive and die at a ripe old age. They really should have left that information for that after word.

23. Something Like Beautiful by asha bandele

Still reading My Father's Paradise (haha) and thinking of slipping in I Had To Row Across the Ocean on the side as well.

24. I Had To Row Across The Ocean by Tori Murden McClure

#19: Are your arms tired yet? Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Is the book worth the read? It looks like something in which I would be interested.

Message 20...
You are funny!.. Thanks for the laugh.

25. Monique and the Mango Rains by Kris Holloway

Monique is definitely well worth the read.

Ocean was interesting as well.Tori went through a lot during her trip, from storms, to losing almost all communications equipment, to just plain loneliness. She is one strong lady, mentally, physically and emotionally, to have been able to pull it all off. It doesn't get released until beginning of '09 though I think, but I wanted to get it out of the way lol.

#22: Thanks, songbirdz, for the info on I Had to Row Across the Ocean. I added it to my Amazon wish list so I won't forget about it once it is really available next April. I will sleep sometime between now and then, and I know I will never remember it - isn't technology wonderful?

26. The Longest Trip Home by John Grogan

27. The Aviary Gate by Katie Hickman
28. The Last Queen : A Novel of Juana La Loca by C.W. Gortner

Hi songbirdz - very interested to hear what you think of The Gargoyle. It is EVERYWHERE in the UK at the moment with a massive marketing campaign, which for me always has the effect of making me not want to read it (I'm counter-suggestible like that... my brother is still trying to persuade me to give White Teeth a chance). But I'm happy to be told otherwise!

songbirdz
I'm very curious re. your thoughts on The Aviary Gate. I noticed this book yesterday when I was buying books on bookCloseouts.com. I almost bought it, but didn't. Would you recommend it?

29. Schooled by Anisha Lakhani - very quick read!
30. Shadow of colossus by T.L. Higley

>>26 FlossieT: The Gargoyle I enjoyed. It has some graphic descriptions in the beginning half of the main characters burns and such. If you can get past that, you'll hopefully see that it's pretty good (in my opinion, anyway.) I forget the characters name at the moment, but she weaves some really interesting stories of her past selves. Very nicely done =)
>>27 Whisper1: The Aviary Gate was not too bad. It was a little slow in the beginning, and I'll admit that I put it down for a little while, and when I picked it back up I got confused who was who for a bit *blushes* It has a few plot twists, and I felt bad for one of the main characters, Celia. It dragged a little, but not that bad.

Thanks for the response regarding The Aviary Gate. I may order this on my next BookCloseouts order.

31. The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

Excellant! It was hard to put it down (curse you sleep!) I'm extremely glad that I received this book, quite the page turner. Kept wanting to find out what was going to happen next.

I think I started this book and got distracted and had to get it back to the library. Does it start with a storyline of a young woman contacted by her Morman mother who is accused of murder?

I'll have to get this again.

#30 songbirdz: I have put The 19th Wife on hold at my local library. I hope I enjoy it as much as you did!

32. We Bought A Zoo by Benjamin Mee

songbirdz.
Did you enjoy We Bought a Zoo? Could you recommend it?

33. Tethered by Amy Mackinnon
34. The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran - Allllmost done, but it's enjoyable, and I have to look into picking up her other book now.

>33 songbirdz: Zoo was pretty cool, I had to admit. Benjamin was candid about the problems the family faced in acquiring it, the loss of his wife, and going about rebuilding the it. He's had to deal with escaped animals and rebuilding enclosures on a budget. He seems to have a thing with brambles though.. He's fallen into them after a close encounter with a porcupine and the lions I think it was, lol. He describes how beautiful and dumb peacocks can be, and how animals can, and do have, homosexual tendencies. I'd definitely say you should check it out =) I also need to write an actual review.. along with a few others.. I'm slacking a bit here *blush*

Thanks songbirdz...I've added We Bought a Zoo to my mountain tbr list

35. Dewey Such a nice story.
36. Sarah's Key such a depressing story!

Read both in one day each, was hard to put them down.

Sounds like a great reading day when you picked up those two - opposite extremes of emotion I would think, though. I have added them to Continent TBR.

37. The Eight by Katherine Neville Saw this in the store and couldn't resist.. kinda dragged at parts, but very enjoyable.
38. Miles from Nowhere by Nami Mun Finally got to this one, and blew through pretty fast.

If you are interested, songbirdz, Katherine Neville put out a sequel to The Eight recently called The Fire. I thought The Eight could have been cut by 100 pages or so, but still an enjoyable read in all.

How was Miles from Nowhere? Worth the time and effort?

Didn't really think Miles From Nowhere was that great. I'll be donating it when I have the time.

39. Where Am I Wearing Interesting look into things, especially considering he didn't really have any industry contacts. It's nice he got to look into the lives of the workers, but it felt like his visits were too short to fully grasp it all. Included history of laws enacted in the States for child welfare, and workers aren't treated like total scum.
40. Stardust by Neil Gaiman It was interesting to compare the differences between book and movie (finally..) but the movie was more interesting. Book definitely had some good moments though that the movie didn't.

In no specific order..

41. DNA by W. Craig Reed - more for the military/science minded..
42. The Fireman's Wife by Jack Riggs - my ER book.. not too bad. Ending was a mix of sadness and happiness..
43. The Last Days of Krypton by Kevin J. Anderson - interesting to see what happened to Superman's planet.

44. Santa Responds
45. Irreplaceable by Stephen Lovely
46. Matrimony by Joshua Henkin
47. Blonde Roots by Bernardine Evaristo
48. Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips

Songbirdz
I'm curious regarding book #44 Santa Responds. The title implies humor. Was it a funny book?