Cynthia's Reviews
Review 1: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
Believe it or not, this is the first time I've read this book. I had read one other Fannie Flagg book (Welcome to the World Baby Girl) a few years ago and liked it, so I picked up the Tomatoes book when I found it for $1.50 at the used book store.
Overall, I liked the story. It had a good pace...there were always new questions, but questions were answered along the way. Flagg does an excellent job developing the characters that live in Whistle Stop during the Depression era and beyond. I found myself wondering more about Evelyn, the modern day woman hearing the story. However, by the end of the story, I found that I cared much more about the Whistle Stop part of the story much more than the modern day stuff. The story did bounce around quite a bit, sometimes too much, but overall I was able to keep up with it just fine.
I haven't decided if I'm going to try to see the movie soon...I'm happy with the book, and sometimes movies are just so wrong compared to the book.
Review 2: The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation by Barbara Rossing (Challenge Book #1)
For my first non-fiction book, I chose something from the category of theology. The basic premise for this book is that "rapture theology" is not only heresy, but is also a dangerous world view. One review of this book said that a theology background is not necessary for reading this book, but I think it really helps!
Rossing is very passionate about disproving the entire rapture theology, and in my opinion she succeeds. Of course, this can be done by reading & studying Revelation in a non-literal way. Occasionally she gets a bit too passionate, and I want to remind her that, at least in my case, she's preaching to the choir. I particularly enjoyed the Epilogue, which dissects the verses that some people say proves that the rapture is "in the Bible."
Review 3: The Glass Lake by Maeve Binchy
This is only the second book by Maeve Binchy that I've read (the other one was "Light a Penny Candle"). I loved it. Every word of it kept me wanting to turn the page to see what would happen next in the story. No, it's not so much an action book, but there is a lot of suspense and mystery. As the store of Lough Glass unfolds, told through the story of Kit and her estranged mother, I imagined myself in Ireland and London in the 1950s. What a different world, yet so much the same.
It's hard to describe this book without giving too much away. If you enjoy family drama books, you'll love "The Glass Lake." It was easy to read without being fluffy, so don't let the 700+ pages scare you away!
Review 4: You are Your Choices: 50 Ways to Live the Good Life by Alexandra Stoddard (Challenge Book #2)
I went back and forth with how I feel about this collection of 50 essays by self-proclaimed "happiness expert" Alexandra Stoddard. Sometimes I think she's brilliant and hit the nail right on the head. Sometimes I want to ask her what she's smoking. All in all, it was a decent book. I think I would have liked it better if I read the essays as I "needed" them. For example, reading the "Reevaluate Your Priorities Regularly" essay would be good when I'm in a rut, and "Share the Beauty" would be nice to read when I want to do something nice for someone. But reading them all at once led to some eye-rolling on my part.
Review 5: America's Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money by Steve and Annette Economides (Challenge Book #3)
This is the first of potentially several financial books I plan to read in the near future. I've read Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman, and Mary Hunt, and wanted to try something new. Not surprisingly, I had heard several of these money-saving tips before. However, unless you have a large family and have never had debt, this may not be the best choice for you. This family has not been in debt except for mortgages (which they pay off quickly). They didn't devote a whole lot of time to ways to eliminate debt, and glossed over buying a car from a dealership--things they do not have experience with.
I did learn about how to teach kids about money (something I may or may not need in the future). The one thing I really disagree with is their order of how to save money. They recommend building your emergency fund before starting to contribute to your 401K. Personally, I think one needs to contribute at least what is matched for as long as possible, even while getting out of debt and building the emergency fund. But maybe that's just me.
Review 6: Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know and Doesn't by Stephen Prothero (Challenge Book #4)
This book is not what I expected. By only hearing the title, I expected each chapter to be about a different religion. Wrong! Instead, the author takes the approach of explaining why Americans are illiterate in the area of religion today. As someone who is always trying to learn more about my personal religion, I was quite shocked at some of the statistics provided. The chapters on how the education system was run during colonial times and how it evolved during the years was interesting, if not a bit tedious at times. The dictionary in the back is what gave me some of the knowledge that I wanted to learn about when reserving this book from the public library.
Review 7: Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar
After hearing a couple of friends discuss this series, and because I know it'll be a new TV series on the CW this fall, I decided to give this book a try. I read it in less than 24 hours...it's most definitely teen fluff. However, I now want to read the next one in the series, just to make sure I'm ready for the show, of course. ;)
The story is about several v. rich teenagers on the Upper East Side. They attend private school, they drink heavily, and have basically no parental supervision. It's craziness! But so fun!
Review 8: More on the Pendleton Underground by Pam Severe and Lon Thornburg (Challenge Book #5)
I think this book is just sold locally, which makes sense as it's all about stories that are not covered during the tour of the Underground in Pendleton, Oregon. The book assumes that the reader has already taken the tour at least once (4 times, in my case) and has a knowledge of Pendleton geography.
I didn't realize until reading this book that the tunnels are much more extensive than what is currently called the "underground." It was also fun reading stories from locals about the way tunnels were utilized and explored long before this was a tourist attraction. Pam, one of the authors, is currently working on a book about Stella, the madame of the Cozy Room Bordello. The Cozy Room has quite an interesting story, and I'm looking forward to her getting that book published.
The first 10 pictures of this set were taken in the Underground, in case you want to see what I'm talking about:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/medlibrarygirl/sets/72157594199453491/
Review 9: Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich
Yay, number 10 in the Stephanie Plum series! I never know quite how to review these, because they're all pretty much the same. Stephanie Plum is still a bounty hunter, she is still torn between Morelli and Ranger (mmm...Ranger...), Lula and Grandma Mazur still like to tag along, and someone is still out to kill Stephanie. In this case, it's one of Trenton's gangs. As most of the town doesn't even realize that gangs are in Trenton, Stephanie has to educate herself quickly and find a place to hide out. This is when she discovers Ranger's Bat Cave (while Ranger is out of town).
I'll be reading number 11 sometime this summer, but I like to put a few books in between each one. Because, as previously mentioned, they're pretty much all the same. But fun. :)
Review 10: Size 14 is Not Fat Either by Meg Cabot
Meg Cabot writes great fluff. So far I've enjoyed the Heather Wells series, starting with Size 12 is Not Fat last summer. They've got a Veronica Mars vibe to them, though I don't think Heather is quite as smart as Veronica.
There's been another murder in the "Death Dorm" and, like before, Heather thinks the police are not being thorough enough. So she starts her own informal investigation while telling everyone that she's staying out of it. Plus she's dealing with her personal life: her landlord/boss, Cooper, his brother (and her former fiance) Jordan, her dad, and bodega fried chicken.
Review 11: That Summer by Sarah Dessen
This is the first book I've read of Sarah Dessen's, though I've been hearing how wonderful she is for the past couple of years. I must say that judging on this book, she is worth the hype!
That Summer is the story of 15-year-old Haven's summer, and her reflections on another summer five years ago. As the current summer progresses, she finds out more truths and that the summer a few years ago didn't necessarily need to be on a pedestal. I felt for Haven...it's hard being 15. Dessen taps right into that 15-year-old soul and eloquently expresses her sadness and pain with dashes of humor as well. An exellent read!
Review 12: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
No spoilers from me! I worked so hard to avoid them, and was rewarded with a satisfying ending to the series. That's all I'm sayin'.
Review 13: Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot
Ah, fluff, how I love thee. :) Lizzie, the Queen of Babble, has relocated to NYC, and is working on being more mature and not using the Lizzie Broadcasting Network so much. She has employment issues, friend issues, and relationship issues. But ultimately, she does an okay job of not being such a big mouth.
After reading this book I now want to learn to sew clothing (not just hand-sewing quilts) and restore wedding dresses. Because that sounds like so much fun. :)
Review 14: The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
While this isn't like Meg Cabot fluff, it's v. much still in the chick-lit genre.
What I liked: Knitting! Yarn! NYC! I enjoyed most of the characters, though I felt we only *really* get to know Georgia Walker. I ended up kinda liking Cat, and liked Anita all along. It was a fun read and moved fairly quick.
What I didn't like: It just wasn't believable *at all.* I read fantasy or fluff when I want to exercise my suspension of disbelief. I realize that this is fiction, but well, most things worked out just so unbelievably well that I found myself rolling my eyes a few times.
Overall: I liked it. I don't know if I'll re-read it. If you're not into knitting you won't understand some of the stuff they talk about, but mostly it's supposed to be about the characters anyway, not the yarn. :)
Review 15: Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich
Hooray! With this review, I've met my SRP goals!
This book was different, as Stephanie Plum decides she's had enough of the bounty hunter business and tries to get a "real job." Unfortunately, as she is a magnet for disaster, things go wrong. Cars blow up. There's a lot of tension between Steph and Ranger and Steph and Morelli. I know book 13 just came out...I wonder how many more will be in this series.
It was a fun read, like the rest of the series. I can't believe I'm almost caught up with them now!
Review 16: Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen
Once again, I must comment that Sarah Dessen is a brilliant writer. She picks up on the little things that people do and incorporates them into her writing.
This is the story of two best friends, Halley and Scarlett, as they go through a crazy year together. At times it seems like they might grow apart, yet they always stick together. Lovely. :)
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