2009 e-Book Reading Challenge Wrap-Up

I have also completed the e-book challenge. I would like to thank my hubby for really helping me complete this challenge - as without him I would've never gotten my Sony Reader and therefore never joined this challenge.

Although the challenge was only for 10 books (see original post), I up'd it to 12. It was loads of fun.

Here's my final list:

1 Disquiet - Julia Leigh (completed 1/01/09)

2 Where the Heart Is - Billie Letts (completed 1/05/09)

3 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon (completed 1/07/09)

4 Secret Vampire - L.J. Smith (completed 1/13/09)

5 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (completed 1/19/09)

6 Life of Pi - Yann Martel (completed 1/23/09)

7 One Fifth Avenue - Candace Bushnell (completed 2/09/09)

8 Outlander - Diana Gabaldon (completed 2/19/09)

9 He's Just Not Into You - Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo (completed 3/06/09)

10 The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - John Boyne (completed 3/07/09)

11 The Host - Stephanie Meyer (completed 3/11/09)

12 Dirty Little Angels - Chris Tusa (completed 3/14/09)

Dirty Little Angels by Chris Tusa

Dirty Little Angels is told through the view point of Hailey Trosclair - a 16 year old teen living in the slums of New Orleans. Through Hailey we learn of her family, friends and what life is like for a teen who hasn't been dealt the best hand in life.

We also meet an assortment of characters: Cyrus - the over-protective older brother who knows just when to use his set of brass knuckles. Her parents - her father is a jobless, adulterous, alchoholic and her mother - who is suffering from depression due to a miscarriage. We also meet Verma - witty family friend, and then there is Moses Watkins - an ex-con, ex-preacher who is trying to start a drive-through church.

There is so much going on in this short book (drugs, sex and violence). But in the end, it is a book about family - love for one's family; and it will test you and ask you, what would you do to keep and protect your family? To what lengths would you go?

Chris Tusa’s prose is chillingly effective at maintaining a sense of dread, along with a palpable tension amongst his characters. I liked that he is economical in his choice of words to evoke scenes and emotions.

A good story--a little off-beat--but I really liked Hailey, even though there were moments when she wasn't so likable. To be honest, I liked that all the characters were jaded and imperfect - they were real.

I found it to be an absolutely enthralling, exciting, depressing, uplifting, tear inducing, story-telling book.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

The story is told through the point-of-view of Bruno, a 9 year-old boy who is sadly naive to what the situation in his country is. When Bruno’s family moves from Berlin, he leaves behind his three best friends and his beautiful 5-story home, making him a very unhappy young man. Bruno detests his new home at Out-With (Auschwitz). At Out-With there are no other children to play with other than his older (12) sister "who is a lost case" and the house only has 3-stories and barely any windows, not to mention they are somewhere in the country and not in a big city like he is used to. His family has to move after The Fury (The Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler) comes to dinner at their Berlin house with a beautiful blonde lady (Eva Braun) to give his father a promotion. At Bruno's new house he can't see all the way across Berlin from his window (like he did in his old home) but he can see into a "farm" surrounded by a tall barbed wire fence with lots of boys milling about. He becomes jealous of these boys because they have lots of friends to play with, and he doesn't, and they get to wear striped pajamas all day, every day, while he has to wear all this fancy clothes all the time. All these are examples of how naive Bruno is, which is beautiful and so sad at the same time.

As any 9 year old would, Bruno loves to explore. So, to keep himself occupied he begins exploring through their backyard. Through these daily adventures he eventually comes to a fence where he meets a young Jewish boy named Schmuel. Although Schmuel is on the other side of the fence, this does not deter the grand friendship that ensues.

I found it a bit shocking how the author mixed innocence with violence in a very peculiar way. The writing style is simple, yet profound. A quick read; because you will not want to put it down, and a heart wrenching ending that will keep you thinking long after you've finished the book. 

On a side note: I also saw this movie about two weeks ago and it does not disappoint. It stayed true to the book on almost everything. It was a little different at the end but it still got its point across. It's a touching story and one that you shouldn't miss out on.

He's Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo

He’s Just Not That Into You is mainly written by self-proclaimed "bad guy" Greg Behrendt who was a consultant on the show "Sex and the City". He bluntly explains why men act the way they do and how women should interpret their actions. We also get the female version through Liz Tuccillo’s words (also a consultant for SATC). What I liked most about this book is that the authors never make the reader feel as if they have to change who they are in order to snag a guy. This book is about learning how to deal with the men in your relationships and realizing when the time has come to cut your losses and just move on.

Overall, a great insight into the way a man’s mind works and also a hilariously funny read. I found myself laughing out loud on several occasions!

Although this book is a self-help book (which did not really apply to me), I can say that I learned one thing from it and that was to realize how much my husband was really into me when we were dating and still is after 10 years.

Some parts that I thought were great:

"My favorite innocent words and phrases that can be used for evil:
1. " I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you"
2. " Fear of Intimacy"
3. " Busy"
4. " Im not ready"
5. "Call me''
True meaning: He does not really like you!"

" Women don't need to plot, scheme, and beg to get someone to ask us out. We are fantastic."

A definite must read for any single girl out there that could use a little inside information and a push in the right direction.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

On holiday in 1945, ex-British nurse, Claire Randall, accidentally travels back in time, to 1743. She leaves behind a loving husband and a comfortable 20th-century existence, and finds herself in the midst of skirmishing Scottish clans, brutal British captains, and the hardships of life in the 18th century.

I know I’m a bit late to this party, as I think everyone I know has already read the Outlander series or is in the process of doing so, but I can’t begin to tell you how wonderful I found this book to be. There is just so much going on in this story - fantasy, romance, history, adventure. And it was all neatly wrapped up into this epic tale of love that transcends time. WoW!

I did find it a bit wordy at times... sometimes the descriptions enhanced the story, as when describing the Scottish Highlands in all their splendor, but there were times where I found it hard to focus on the page-after-page depictions of each intricate dark corner of a castle or prison.

I read that Ms. Gabaldon said that this was not meant to be the story of a romance, but the story of a marriage. What a profound statement! Marriage is not love and happiness all the time; it has it's challenges. I feel that she does a very good job of illustrating a true marriage.

I strongly recommend this to anyone who loves a well-written story.

... and thus begins my love affair w/ Jaime and Claire Fraser... I believe I have 6 more books to go.

One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell

This one is a toughie. I haven’t decided whether I liked this one or not.... yet. I’m leaning towards the not liking direction though.

The story revolves around the lives of the residents of a luxury building on Fifth Avenue. A place that just by living in it or being seen entering or exiting from it - meant wealth and power. Each resident of One Fifth is interconnected somehow and it was neat to see how one of their actions would cause an effect in one of their neighbors’ lives. I also liked that architecture was the center-piece of the story. I will say, that there were a lot of characters (each written in the first person) introduced all at once, which was confusing at first, but once I got passed that and actually started focusing on who was who and what was what it became easier to read and the pages began turning. The writing was very hip and fresh and I loved her comments on 20-somethings, bloggers and the Internet.

But in the end, it just didn’t strike a note with me. I don’t know if it was that I just didn’t connect with any of the characters or that we have no similarities in common, but I found that none of the characters were likeable. There was one character that I did like but she was the one that we barely read about (figures). I got the impression that this book was expressly written to become a movie or tv series.

All in all, if you like reading stories about New York City life, sex, lies and money, (Drama, Drama, Drama), then this is something that I’d recommend you read.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

When Pi is sixteen, his family decides to emigrate from India to Canada aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes. The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. And there begins our adventure..

Although the story mostly revolves around Pi’s will to survive his 7 month long journey at sea, there are a lot of other thought-provoking elements. It contains elements of religion, philosophy, zoology, and biology.

With faith, this novel becomes all the more meaningful. It enables you to absorb the thoughts and emotion that Pi experiences. At the end of the book, when he presents two stories about what has happened to him, it is difficult to decide which of the two outcomes is true, and/or which of the two you prefer. I absolutely loved the ending of this book, it made me look at the story from a totally different perspective.

My favorite part were the instructions on how to dominate a Bengal tiger on a boat - this had me in stitches.

I will forewarn you though, it was a bit slow at first - but persevere and you will be awarded with a beautifully crafted and very vivid story of human nature and survival.

Secret Vampire by L.J. Smith

When Poppy is diagnosed with terminal cancer who does she turn to for support in coping with her fate? None other than her secret vampire BFF - James, who can actually save her by converting her. This was a very cute, PG rated, YA book that I devoured in about 2 hours time (while at work *snickers*). It's a teen vampire romance drama, with all the cliches/ trimmings. But other than that, it is a great guilty pleasure read. One thing that I did find new and refreshing was that vampirism had a scientific explanation in this story. It wasn’t just about " I VANT TO SUCK YOUR BLOOD". This is the intro story to the Night World series by L.J. Smith.

I found this little gem through one of J.Kaye’s posts. Amazon.com has a limited time free e-book version of it being offered that I couldn’t help getting caught up in right away.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Christopher Boone has one goal and that is to find out who the murderer of a neighborhood dog (Wellington) is. Although his search is for a dog-murderer, Christopher's quest ultimately uncovers some very important family secrets along the way.

It was fascinating to be able to read thru the point-of-view of an 11 year old child with autism - it definitely made for a compelling read. I loved reading about all the quirks (i.e. his hate of anything yellow or brown, his pain at being touched, how a certain amount of red cars or yellow cars would determine how his day went, how doing "maths" calms him down, etc.). Along the way, you also learn about his daily interactions with his father, teachers and neighbors.

This story provides great insight to those who want to understand what autism is. Most books revolve around people who care for an autistic person and I found this to be a fresh and profound view of living with autism. It was a quick and enjoyable read and an altogether great experience for the insight it provides.

Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts

Novalee Nation is seventeen and seven months pregnant when the father of her child abandons her at a Walmart halfway across the nation from anyone she knows. The story of Novalie's life is so beautiful - she overcomes so many obstacles (from being abandoned by her mother as a child to living and giving birth in a Walmart, etc.) yet always looks on the brighter side. She goes through the good, bad, and ugly. I laughed and I cried. It just goes to show that friends can be just as much your family as those who are blood-related to you, sometimes they are even more so. Through Novalee the reader is introduced to a variety of lovable and eccentric characters who teach her that home truly is Where the Heart Is.

Disquiet by Julia Leigh

Disquiet was such a sad and haunting story. It is the story of Olivia, (referred to mostly as "the woman" throughout the book). She has left her abusive husband and takes her two children to her mothers chateau in France. There is also the story of Marcus (Olivia’s brother) and his wife Sophie - they have just returned from the hospital with an infant that was stillborn. The hospital gave them the infant so that they could "get to know her" prior to the burial. I really enjoyed Ms. Leigh’s journalistic style throughout the story. Her sentences and paragraphs were short yet she chose the appropriate words to describe the scenery and emotions without overly doing it. I did feel somewhat unsatisfied throughout the novel. There were certain areas that were not entirely expressed - where you just had to somewhat piece together what was going on. I also did not get very attached to the characters as I felt that they were holding back or kept at a distance. Other than that, the title says it all, tragic, disturbing, but mostly, disquieting.

2009 eBook Reading Challenge

Guidelines:
1. You can join anytime as long as you don’t start reading to your books prior to 2009.

2. Read 10 eBooks in 2009.

3. Overlaps with other challenges are fine.

4. When you sign up under Mr. Linky, list the direct link to your post where your eBooks will be listed. If you list just your blog’s URL, it will be removed. If you’ll be posting your challenges on your sidebar, then please put the button up and link before signing up. If you don’t have a blog, leave the URL blank.

5. You do not have to list your books ahead of time. If you decide to, you can change them as you go. Feel free to remove or add titles as needed.

My List:
1 Disquiet - Julia Leigh
2 Where the Heart Is - Billie Letts
3 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon
4 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
5 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
6 The Host - Stephanie Meyer

7 - 10 TBA