Slumdog Millionaire and Kristen

I finished Slumdog Millionaire yesterday. Overall it is a pretty good book. The premise was interesting, and the way the author set up the story made it more intriguing than if he had just told the story of the protagonist's life in chronological order. Each chapter tells about an experience from Ram Mohammad Thomas's life and how this experience allowed him to know the answer to one question on the gameshow, Who Will Will a Billion? The book moved pretty quickly. There were a couple of places where the author overtold the story, but for the most part, it was a satisfying read. It wasn't the best book ever, but I'm certainly glad I've read it.

After reading Slumdog Millionaire I needed something light and fluffy, so I read Kristen, a 122 page supplement to the Clique series. There's not a whole lot to say about these books. They're mindless and empty, but fun to read.

Since my last post I have read three young adult books: Secrets of My Hollywood Life: On Location, Wintergirls, and Last Dance at the Frosty Queen. Secrets of My Hollywood Life: On Location, written by Jen Calonita, is the second in a series about Kaitlyn Burke. Sixteen-year-old Kaitlyn is already a Hollywood "It Girl." She stars on a hit TV show and is breaking into the movie business. She is trying to balance being a star and being "normal." These books aren't literary masterpieces by any stretch of the imagination, but they're still good books. It's certainly fun to read about the inner workings of Hollywood-the not-so-glamorous aspects. Kaitlyn is a great character because she is still grounded, even in the midst of red carpets and movie premieres.

Wintergirls, by Laurie Halse Anderson, explores the emotional depths of 18-year-old Lia's decent into anorexia. Wintergirls is interesting and insightful. It was depressing to be inside Lia's head. Sometimes I wanted to scream at her to "snap out of it." Of course, I know that anorexia is a disease that you don't just "snap out of," but even so, I found myself frustrated beyond belief with Lia at times. I'm sure the emotions I felt as a reader don't even scratch the surface of how a parent must feel watching their child trying to fight back from the depths of hell and losing.

Last Dance at the Frosty Queen, by Richard Uhlig, was great! I didn't think I would like it after reading the synopsis and some customer reviews; however I thought is was a wonderful book full of characters who, while not completely likeable, were very real. Arty is three weeks away from graduating high school. He is so desperate to get out of his small Kansas town, but he's got some issues to take care of before he can leave; namely, his women. Arty is brooding yet likeable. He's pessimestic but hopeful. I found myself rooting for him with all of my being. I definitely recommend this book. Warning: there is quite a bit of sex, but it's not just randomly placed. It is actually part of the story.

Once A Runner Part 2

Once a Runner was good. It took me a bit to get into it, but once I did, I enjoyed it. Having coached cross country, I found it to be very believable. The ending was satisfying, but not "romantic." I liked that. I'll probably read the sequel, Again to Carthage, eventually, but not for a while.

Once A Runner

Whew! Now that that's done, let's get down to business. Right now I'm reading Once A Runner by John L. Parker, Jr. I heard about this book a year or so back whe I read an article in Runner's World magazine about Parker, who had just published the sequel to Once A Runner after 20+ years. The book, out of print for a number of years, had garnered somewhat of a cult following and was selling on ebay for upwards of $300. I searched and searched for a copy at a reasonable price and finally found one online for $12 back in September. Of course, now the book is being re-released. TODAY! Oh well, the hunt was part of the fun. I just started reading the book yesterday, so no critique as of yet, but hopefully I won't fall so far behind again.

Good Intentions, Bad Follow Throuth

I really have intented to post regularly throughout the school year but I have failed miserably. Here is a list of what I've read since my last post:
Fearless Fourteen-Janet Evanovich
Breaking Dawn-Stephanie Meyer
Cheer!-Kate Torgovnick
love the one you're with-Emily Giffin
Hot Mess: Summer in the city-Julie Kraut & Shallon Lester
Beastly-Alex Flinn
Bad Kitty-Michelle Jaffe
Red Glass-Laura Resau
American Wife-Curtis Sittenfeld
The Battle of Jericho-Sharon Draper
November Blues-Sharon Draper
The Loop-Nicholas Evans
The Boy Next Door-Meg Cabot
How to Be Popular-Meg Cabot
Sisters-Danielle Steele
Schooled-Anisha Lakhani
The Book Thief-Markus Zusak
Bergdorf Blondes-Plum Sykes
Sloppy Firsts-Megan McCafferty
Gods in Alabama-Joshilyn Jackson
Second Helpings-Megan McCafferty
Charmed Thirds-Megan McCafferty
Fourth Comings-Megan McCafferty
The Other Boelyn Girl-Phillipa Gregory
America America-Ethan Canin
Fat Kid Rules the World-K.L. Going
What I Saw and How I Lied-Judy Blundell
Boy Meets Girl-Meg Cabot
Alibi in High Heels-Gemma Halliday
Hornet Flight-Ken Follett
The Shack-William Young
Lock and Key-Sarah Dessen
Princess Forever-Meg Cabot
The Friday Night Knitting Club-Kate Jacobs
The Poison Apples-Lily Archer
Bittersweet Sixteen-Carrie Karasyov & Jill Kargman
Annie on my Mind-Nancy Garden
Confessions of a Shopaholic-Sophie Kinsella
Shopaholic Takes Manhattan-Sophie Kinsella
Atonement-Ian McEwan
The Associate-John Grisham
Massie-Lisi Harrison
Lemonade Mouth-Mark Peter Hughes
Dylan-Lisi Harrison
I Love You, Beth Cooper-Larry Doyle
Violet on the Runway-Melissa Walker
Tourist Season-Carl Hiaasen
Thirteen Reasons Why-Jay Asher
I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have to Kill You-Ally Carter
Alicia-Lisi Harrison
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn-Betty Smith
Secrets of My Hollywood Life-Jen Calonita
Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy-Ally Carter

Life As We Knew It

I'm currently reading Life As We Knew it by Susan Beth Pfeffer. It's very good. The story is told through Miranda's journal entries. Miranda is just finishing her sophomore year in high school when an asteroid collides into the moon, knocking the moon off its orbit and sending the world into a frenzy. The weather goes wild, people go even wilder. It's a very apocalyptic tale, so far anyway. I know it sounds very wierd, but because of Pfeffer's writing style, it seems totally realistic. In fact, much of it reminds me of the immediate panic after 9/11. Parents picking up their kids from school early, crazy long lines at the gas station, people stocking up on bottled water and canned food. The similarities are a little eerie. The book, however, is full of hope and love.

Long Time No Blog

Wow! Has it really been since April that I've posted? I guess I got just a little busy at the end of the school year and a LOT lazy over the summer. Well, I'll get back into it now that school is starting again soon. Here's a list of everything I've read since my last post:
Big Boned Meg Cabot
The Truth About Diamonds by Nicole Richie
Every Boy's Got One by Meg Cabot
Infected by Scott Sigler
Princess Mia by Meg Cabot
Checkmate by Malorie Blackman
Nobody Does It Better by Cecily von Ziegesar
Nothing Can Keep Us Together by Cecily von Ziegesar
The Luxe by Anna Godbersen
Forever Odd by Dean Koontz
Only in your Dreams by Cecily von Ziegesar
Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
Something Blue by Emily Giffin
Don't Make Me Choose Between You and My Shoes by Dixie Cash
The Hammer of Eden by Ken Follett
Shoot The Moon by Billie Letts
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Baby Proof by Emily Giffin
Would I Lie to You by Cecily von Ziegesar
Don't You Forget About Me by Cecily von Ziegesar
It Had to Be You by Cecily von Ziegesar
Turning Angel by Greg Iles
Airhead by Meg Cabot

It's been a great summer of reading!