20 in 2009 Wrap-Up

I just completed the 20 in 2009 Challenge. My original post is here. Below is my completed list of books read with links for their reviews.

My List:
1 Disquiet - Julia Leigh (completed 1/01/09)
2 Christmas Jars - Jason F. Wright (completed 1/02/09)
3 The Reader - Bernard Schlink (completed 1/03/09)
4 The Wednesday Letters - Jason F. Wright (completed 1/04/09)
5 Where the Heart Is - Billie Letts (completed 1/5/09)
6 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon (completed 1/07/09)
7 Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict - Laurie Viera Rigler (completed 1/09/09)
8 Blindness - José Saramago (completed 1/11/09)
9 Secret Vampire - L.J. Smith (completed 1/13/09)
10 Inkspell - Cornelia Funke (completed 1/15/09)
11 Time of My Life - Allison Winn Scotch (completed - 1/17/09)
12 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (completed 1/19/09)
13 Life of Pi - Yann Martel (completed - 1/23/09)
14 The Little Giant of Aberdeen County - Tiffany Baker (completed 1/26/09)
15 Ms. Hempel Chronicles - Sarah Shun-lien Bynum (completed 1/27/09)
16 The Thief Lord - Cornelia Funke (completed 1/29/09)
17 Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro (completed 2/01/09)

18 Confessions of a Shopoholic - Sophie Kinsella (completed 2/02/09)
19 No Rest for the Wicked - Kresley Cole (completed 2/05/09)
20 One Fifth Avenue - Candace Bushnell (completed 2/09/09)

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.

No Rest for the Wicked by Kresley Cole

This is the second book in the Immortals After Dark series. This is the story of Kaderin the Cold and she has met her mate in a vampire (which she starts off not being too happy about)- Sebastian. The story takes us from one adventure after another throughout the globe as Kaderin and Sebastian are competing for the grand prize in the Hie. In this story we once again hear from Emma and Myst and learn more about the Lore. You are also introduced to the characters for her next book. I love that about these books - that, and that you always seem to get a glimpse of the lives of those characters you previously enjoyed.

The story is full of action, adventure and steamy romance. These books are part of my guilty pleasures (along with all Christine Feehan and Sherrilyn Kenyon books).

Another enjoyable, can't-put-it-down, interrupt-me-and-you'll-be-sorry page turner.

Confessions of a Shopoholic by Sophie Kinsella

I can’t wait for the movie! I was in the mood for something light and funny - just some mind candy. I was reading all these deep, thought-provoking books all last month that I thought I was in need of a break - and I couldn’t have chosen anything better than Confessions of a Shopoholic.

Rebecca Bloomwood is 25, a writer for a magazine called Successful Savings, lives in a fab flat in a ritzy neighborhood, has all the latest clothes and fantastic, loveable rich friends - what more can a girl ask for right? Well, this would all be merry if it weren’t for the fact that she is in debt trying to live a life that she just can’t afford. Her troubles begin when she starts getting harassed by her loan creditors for repayment. Everyday more and more letters arrive requesting repayment and she is just too much of a shopoholic to stop all her frivolous spending.

Mostly the book deals with Rebecca trying to control her spending habits, but really only getting deeper and deeper in the hole. She is bored to death with her job and feels that no one in her industry respects her. She’s a bit naive at times and the way she thought through her difficulties was rather irrational and unrealistic, I thought. But her scenarios and situations where just so fun to read about that none of that bothered me. I was literally sitting there laughing out loud at times. When she thinks she’s going to win the lottery or she has to come up with the excuse of her "fake" aunt’s death - were totally hilarious. And the letters from her creditors with all the excuses of why she can’t make payments (i.e.: a broken leg, her dog died, glandular fever) - were roll on the floor funny.

So, if you’re in the mood for something fun and light - this is a great choice. Total fluff but just what I needed at this point.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Title: Never Let Me Go
Author: Kazuo Ishiguro
Pages: 304
Genre: Science Fiction
Source: Purchased

I almost don't want to say anything about this book because I don't want to give anything away. Not to mention, I commenced reading this not knowing a thing about it, so the way the author unfolds the story... by slow increments making you more and more knowledgeable about what is going on, was extraordinary and part of the reason why I enjoyed this book so much.

Ishiguro crafts a picturesque boarding school world populated by seemingly normal students, with all the pettiness, mean-spiritedness and misunderstandings of everyday teens. However, it is clear from the start that something is subtly different about these children and the way they are being brought up.

The narrator of Never Let Me Go is Kathy H, a young "carer" in England. Throughout the novel she reminisces about her childhood, coming of age and friendships with Ruth and Tommy in an open, conversational style. She's a wonderfully developed character who holds your interest and sympathy throughout the book. 

I won’t say much else, so that when and, if you do decide to read this, everything can be as new and shocking to you as it was to me -a real page-turner.

This story was deeply sad, moving, and absorbing. It is one that will stay with you.

My Rating:

The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

Prosper and Bo are on the run from their aunt and uncle who want to separate the brothers by having the young Bo live with them while shipping the older Prosper off to boarding school. With hopes of staying together, they flee to the magical city of Venice where they are taken in by a mysterious boy who calls himself the "Thief Lord". With the help of their Thief Lord they are able to reside in an abandoned movie theater with other young runaways - who they consider family and the dilapidated theater a home. Along the way we also meet Victor Getz- the detective hired by Bo and Prosper’s aunt and uncle to help find the boys (and by far my favorite character).

This story was such a fun, action-filled, fast-paced adventure! I loved all the details and descriptions of Venice. The characters were full of wit and quite funny. The story itself is well-written has the perfect combination of magic, imagination, and reality.

For those of us who love adventure, twisty plots and witty characters - this is really a treat.

Ms. Hempel Chronicles by Sarah Shun-lien Bynum

Firstly, I want to start by saying that this was not what I thought it would be. I was expecting the memoir of an English teacher. The book has great reviews and therefore I thought "why not?" Sadly, it wasn’t something that caught my attention. I did read the whole book because it really pains me to actually stop reading something I’ve started - but there was just no point to this. Ms. Hempel is a seventh grade middle school teacher and with a refreshingly real voice gives several insightful thoughts about how teenagers and teachers think mixed in with some tangents about her personal life. She is at that verge where she is questioning everything she's doing with her life and how she is affecting the lives of the children she teaches. This was her quest to find herself - through these short, loosely-linked stories.

On a high note, the writing is beautiful and I can see where this would be a good read for a teacher.

But it just never hit a crescendo for me. I thought the plot meandered and was just too drawn out for me.

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker

Truly Plaice is a larger than life character in every sense of the phrase. She is physically enormous and continues to grow and grow - not only in body but in character, soul and heart.

Truly was not born into a happy and easy life. For one, her mother dies after giving birth to her (she was big from the start). Several years later, her father passes away and leaves her sister Serena Jane and Truly at the hands of the local townsfolk, causing the two to be separated from each other. While Serena Jane goes to live at the local vicar’s house and is given anything her littler heart desires, Truly is sent to live at the Dyerson farm, where life is hard and tough and you have to work hard for what you want. Yet there was always a separation between both sisters - where Truly is large, sturdy, loyal and ugly (on the outside), Serena Jane is petite, beautiful, fragile, flighty and selfish.

Through Truly’s eyes, we are taken on a journey through her life where we meet the people who make lasting impressions on her soul and in our minds. First, there is Robert Morgan, the doctor/brother-in-law who torments Truly for most of his life. Then we meet Marcus, the smartest boy in town who stole Truly’s heart through letters while he was fighting for our country. We also meet Ms. Prissy Sparrow - the teacher who was the first to call Truly "Giant". Amelia, the true sister she finds and the family who took her in when she had no where else to go, who taught her to take life’s punches as they come but to be true to yourself at all times. Truly’s story and the relationship she forges with these people is truly unforgettable.

The magic, the sense of finding oneself through a lifetime of not fitting in anywhere, and coming to peace with that is quite brilliant! This was a charming, heartwarming story with a larger-than-life heroine that was a pleasure to read. I highly recommend it.

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.

Time of My Life by Allison Winn Scotch

Time of My Life was a bit reminiscent of Family Man, but I loved it anyway. This book is based on the question "What If?" I became totally engrossed with Jillian's story from the first page. When Jillian goes to her masseuse and has her chi unblocked, some very unexpected things happen. For one, she wakes up seven years earlier in bed, in her old apartment, and still in a relationship with her ex-boyfriend - no more husband, nor toddler, nor house in the suburbs. The best thing of it all, she remains with all the knowledge from her real life in the future... thus being able to avoid old arguments, get work done more efficiently and without the stress, be prepared for important life altering moments, etc. It was fun to see how every action had a reaction, thus changing her present and, of course, her future. More importantly though, it raised some very good points - like being true to yourself and not changing who you are or what you believe in for your partner, instead to compromise. As well as how important communication is in relationships. I was curious to see how things would turn out the second time around and will say that I had a tough time trying not to cheat and just look at the last couple of pages to see how it would end. All in all, this was very funny, thought-provoking and a joy to read. I highly recommend it.

Inkspell by Cornelia Funke

Inkspell holds all the love of books, magic, and adventure that Inkheart did. What a fantastical sequel. In this one, Meggie, Mo, Resa and Farid are actually in the Inkworld. With them, we travel the Wayless Woods, see the Castle of Night, meet the Adderhead, the Laughing Prince (Prince of Sighs) and even Cosimo the Fair.

For some reason it took me a while to get into it and I struggled with the first 100 pages or so, but once it got going I couldn’t put it down. I liked the budding romance between Meggie and Farid. All the new characters introduced made the story all the more enjoyable. With a new nemesis and some of the old one’s being back, Inkspell takes us to a higher and more dangerous level. The ending was a bit sad (why did it have to be my favorite character?) - but I have high hopes that Inkdeath will turn it all around and wrap it up to my satisfaction. :D

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.

Blindness by José Saramago

Firstly, I want to start by saying that this was one of the scariest books that I have ever read.

A city is hit by an epidemic of "white blindness" which spares no one. Authorities begin by quarantining the blind to an empty mental hospital, but there the criminal element holds everyone captive, stealing food rations and raping women. There is one eyewitness to this nightmare who guides seven strangers. I really liked the way that nobody in the story had a name (i.e.: the doctor, the doctor’s wife, the girl with the dark glasses, the man with the black eyepatch, the thief, the first blind man, the boy with the squint, etc.)... a blind person doesn’t need a name they are only a voice.

The writing style was a bit hard for me at first - there is no use of quotations throughout the whole story so it was a bit difficult to distinguish who was speaking- but I caught on quickly enough.

Saramago has a profound way of getting into the depths of human psychology. I found it to be difficult at times, but very thought provoking. What would you do? The world can no longer function as we know it and we are down to living in the streets and scavenging for food. It is an amazing look at humanity, kindness, and pure despair. I was addicted!

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler

This was such a fun and witty novel. In short, Jane Austen meets Quantum Leap. Courtney Stone (hip, modern, LA girl) wakes up as Miss Jane Mansfield in Regency England -in none other than Jane Austen’s time! It’s funny because I myself have wondered a time or two (or three) what it would be like to live in one of my favorite novels. Well, I’m sure there is nothing fun about the lack of plumbing, or body odor!, or anesthesia?!? for that matter. Yes, when you look at it that way, I am sure there is nothing romantic about living in another era. But nonetheless, Courtney makes the best of it, making friends, finding a love interest in Mr. Edgeworth and eventually coming to terms with "if you’re given lemons, make lemonade." =)

This was a nice, easy read. There are plenty of references to Pride and Prejudice along with several similar circumstances that you can also associate with Austen’s novels. I loved that Jane Austen herself had a cameo appearance (which was hilarious)! Lots of fun for fans of Austen's literary brilliance and a clear tribute.

Once again, I would like to send a shout-out to Jennifer at bookclubgirl and Laurie Viera Rigler for hosting the giveaway that allowed me to win this autographed copy. Thanks so much ladies - it was a pleasure to read.

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.

The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright

This is such a feel-good book. This is the story of three siblings who come home in order to bury their parents. They find boxes and boxes of letters written by their father to their mother every Wednesday for the past 39 years of their marriage - Wednesday Letters. This is the legacy left to these grieving children and in these letters they find truths, forgiveness and love.

I will say there was a time or two where I was actually sobbing - but I'm a sucker for a love story. It was a very sweet story with some twists at the end that you didn't see coming. I liked the ending and I especially liked that the Epilogue was in an evelope at the back of the book. I thought that was so fitting and mainly why I bought the book to begin with. I originally bought this book before Chrismtas Jars and hadn't had the opportunity to read it before - but can I say that I really like Mr. Wright's books. His writing is simple and I really like that. I can't wait to make a trip to the bookstore and get his newest title - Recoving Charles. Not to mention, he also took the time to actually comment on my blog. What an honor!

The Reader by Bernard Schlink

The Reader is the story of a young man's association with an older woman. It is the story of how relationships can affect and eventually structure our lives. Michael Berg (15 y/o) meats Hanna (36 y/o) and has a short but life-changing affair with her. Years later, he is a witness to her trial for crimes commited during the Holocaust.

Not for the squeamish, this book hits hard and will stay with you later. To oversimplify it, it comes down to one step affecting the next and the subsequent deterioration of moral structure.

I like the way it ruminates on the mixed feelings of guilt, enlightenment, culpability and self-righteousness of Germany’s second generation following the generation that perpetrated the Holocaust.

Christmas Jars by Jason F. Wright

Keep some tissues on hand for this one. This was such a beautiful, poignant story with such a heart-warming message. This is the story of Hope - Hope Saunders that is. Hope is a journalist with one goal - to get one of her stories on the front page of her newspaper. On one fateful Christmas Eve, her home is burglarized and through her grief and anger she finds a bit of happiness - someone has left a jar on her porch filled to the brim with money. And thus, the story commences.

It is amazing how we do not realize what an infinite effect we can have on other peoples lives with small random acts of kindness. This story was so inspiring that we now have our own Christmas Jar. This is a quick read that is life-altering. Don’t miss this one!

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.