Book Blogger Hop (April 16 - 22)

I found this on Crazy for Books which is hosted by Jennifer.  This is a weekly event that allows book bloggers and readers to connect with each other. 

To join in the fun, go to Crazy for Books and click on the Linky to add your blog to the list.  Blog about the Book Blogger Hop and then check out some of the other blogs listed.  I would like to connect with international bloggers so that I can expand my reading list.

It's chances like this and the reading challenges that provide me with the opportunity to expand my horizons. 

Dymocks 101 List

I saw this on Page Turners- apparently Dymocks (one of Australia's largest book chains) did a survey of what Australia's favourites books are and these are the results below.

• I have bolded and italicised those book that I own and have read (21 in total)
• I have bolded that books that I have read but don't own, and (20 in total)
• I have italicised those books that I own but have not read yet (3 in total)

1 The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer (Read Twilight)
2 The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling (7 out of 7)
3 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
4 The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
5 The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
6 The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
7 To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
8 The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson
9 My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
10 The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
11 The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons
12 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
13 Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
14 The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
15 Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
16 Magician by Raymond E. Feist
17 Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
18 The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
19 Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
20 The Host by Stephenie Meyer
21 Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin
22 Atonement by Ian McEwan
23 The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
24 Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
25 A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
26 Cross Stitch by Diana Gabaldon
27 Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
28 The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas
29 Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
30 Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
31 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
32 Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden
33 Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody
34 The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
35 The Inheritance Series by Christopher Paolini
36 The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
37 Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
38 The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
39 The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
40 Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
41 Ice Station by Matthew Reilly
42 The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
43 Persuasion by Jane Austen
44 Tully by Paullina Simons
45 Seven Ancient Wonders by Matthew Reilly
46 Breath by Tim Winton
47 The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare
48 Life of Pi by Yann Martel
49 A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
50 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
51 Emma by Jane Austen
52 The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
53 The Bible
54 Six Sacred Stones by Matthew Reilly
55 A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey
56 We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
57 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
58 Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
59 The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
60 The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
61 People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
62 The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
63 The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
64 Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
65 Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
66 The Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris (all nine)
67 Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
68 Five Greatest Warriors by Matthew Reilly
69 On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
70 The Princess Bride by William Goldman
71 The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
72 Wicked by Gregory Maguire
73 Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
74 Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
75 Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
76 Dewey by Vicki Myron
77 Dirt Music by Tim Winton
78 Marley and Me by John Grogan
79 Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
80 Dune by Frank Herbert
81 The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
82 The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
83 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
84 War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
85 The Road by Cormac McCarthy
86 Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
87 The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
88 The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
89 Possession by AS Byatt
90 Finnikin of The Rock by Melina Marchetta
91 No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
92 Graceling by Kristin Cashore
93 The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
94 The Secret History by Donna Tartt
95 Silent Country by Di Morrissey
96 Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
97 Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
98 The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
99 Still Alice by Lisa Genova
100 The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
101 Gallipoli by Les Carlyon

Library Loot - April 14 - 20, 2010

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.

I haven't done many of these this year and hope to get back to them over the next month or so.  Hopefully, once I can drive again, I'll start going to the library more  often.

This week, I have one book out, Fantasy in Death by J. D. Robb.  This is the latest in her In Death series.

Eve needs to figure out how a rival of Roarke's in the video-gaming business is killed when he is home alone, in a secured room, playing a new (not on the market yet) video game.

I definitely enjoyed this book more than her last book, Kindred in Death.  Here is my review of Fantasy in Death.

Review - Fantasy in Death

I am happy to say that Fantasy in Death was definitely better than Robb's last book, Kindred in Death.

While I enjoyed Kindred in Death, the interaction between the characters, especially Eve and Roarke, seemed to be getting dull. There wasn't much fire between them for lack of a better word. There was definitely more of that original spark that made them so likable in this book.

The plot for this story was interesting as well.  Death in a holographic game when the person was home alone in a secured apartment.  It was interesting to see how Eve figured this out and how Roarke and the EDD team were able to "prove" her concept although they had a difficult time buying it at first.

Peabody is continuing to grow.  She's starting to think more like Eve now, though she still has a way to go until she can "see" the crime the way that Eve down.

I give Fantasy in Death 4 stars and would recommend it to others.

Cleverly Inked is having a Birthday Giveaway!!!

Liz over at Cleverly Inked is hosting a fantastic Giveaway to celebrate her birthday!!  She has a TON of books and swag that she is giving away, including a number of signed books.

Check it out!

Happy Birthday Liz!!!!

Tuesday Teaser - Treason and National Party No More

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

To participate, do the following:
Grab your current read.

Let the book fall open to a random page.

Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.

You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

Please avoid spoilers!

"That way of campaigning is as outdated as an eight-track tape.  In my two races for governor and in 2000 when I ran for the Senate, I did it today's way."

Page 91 of "A National Party No More" by Sen. Zell Miller.

"Yes Mr. President." He grinned.  "Your memory serves you well, sir."


Page 184 of Treason by Don Brown.

Review - Today's the Day!: My New Shoes

I'm going to start this off by saying that this book was co-written by the wife of one of my husband's co-workers.

Having said that, this is a very cute book.  I bought it for my 2.5 year old originally as an Easter present, but ended up giving it to her as a present from the new baby in the house.

Sydney and I have enjoyed reading it.  The story is a simple one, but told in a cute way.  The little girl in the story is going shopping with her dad to buy new shoes.  The illustrations are in black and white so that the child reading the book can use her imagination.  One time that we read the book, the shoes were chocolate and red, the next they were blue and red.

The only down side to getting this book is that it is only available on Amazon.com at the moment.

UPDATE - 2010 TBR Challenge

I just wanted to post a quick update on how I am doing with this challenge.  So far, I have read four of the books that are on my list.

• Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes - Completed and reviewed - Jan. 23, 2010
  
• The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs - Completed and reviewed - Feb. 10, 2010
• Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky - Completed and reviewed - Feb. 10, 2010

• The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James - Completed and reviewed - April 10, 2010

Information about the 2010 Original TBR (To Be Read) challenge can be found on the Should Be Reading blog hosted by MizB.

Review - The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen

I give this book a 3.75/5.

I decided to read this book because it seemed that so many people were talking about it and had a lot of positive things to say about the book.  As I haven't read much Jane Austen, or is it that I simply cannot remember what I have read, I thought that this would be interesting.  Having read it, I can see why people liked it.  "The Lost Memoirs" was a light-hearted read that I finished quickly.

I knew that I was reading a work of fiction, but it was written as if it were fact.  Ms. James did a good job with how she blended it.  I found myself loving, hating and then loving some of the characters as I read.  I am certainly not a Jane Austen expert.  Could this story have really happened?  Perhaps.  That's one of the reasons that I love fiction that is well-written.  When done correctly, the reader believes that it may have actually happened as the author wrote it. 

I need to clear my reading table to make room, but will be looking to read some novels by Jane Austen in the future.

Review - The Poacher's Son

The Poacher's Son by Paul Doiron


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Poacher's Son  I read an Advance Copy of this book through the Barnes & Noble First Look Club.  This is the first book that we read that was a mystery. 

The Poacher's Son is a debut novel by Paul Doiron.  I really enjoyed reading it.  The Poacher's Son kept my attention and I found that I couldn't put it down. 

The Poacher's Son is set in the Maine wilderness.  Mike Bowditch is the main character and is a Maine Game Warden.  Mike loves the wilderness, the only positive thing that he got from his father when he was growing up.  When his father is accused of murder, Mike must learn for himself what is truth and what is a lie.

Mr. Doiron did a wonderful job describing the Maine wilderness and the characters in this book.  I could see everything very clearly when I was was reading The Poacher's Son.  Mr Doiron is apparently making a series based on Mike's character.  I can't wait to see more from this author.

FTC Notice: I received an Advance Reading Copy of this book through the Barnes & Noble First Look Club.

View all my reviews >>