The Book Challenge: January Recap

Hmmm ... I think I promised to blog about more than just books and skating, but here we are with another book post. I actually do have a vacation recap post in progress, but sometimes all you have the energy for is something quick and easy. It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks.



I upped the ante and got off to a really good start this year. I always read more on vacation. :-)

1. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver -- This month's book club pick about an evangelical minister who drags his family to the Congo, and the lasting effect the experience has on them all.

2. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult -- The ending annoyed me. I hear the movie has a different ending, but I'm still not convinced that the movie won't annoy me as well.

3. We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver -- A mother tries to understand what might have made her son a killer. Disturbing, but thought provoking.

4. Cleaving by Julie Powell -- One of the worst books I have read in a long. long time. I'm not bothered by the fact that Julie Powell (of Julie & Julia) had an affair. I am bothered by how whiny, self-absorbed and entitled she is. Plus she's in dire need of a copy of He's Just Not That Into You.

5. Skinny by Ibi Kaslick -- A rather disjointed novel about anorexia, its aftereffects and family secrets.

6. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson -- What Skinny hoped to accomplish in tackling the topic of eating disroders, Wintergirls actually did.

7. The Wild Things by Dave Eggers -- I don't have the sentimental attachment to Where The Wild Things Are that a lot of people my age do. So while this entertained me, I probably didn't appreciate as fully as others would.

8. Crank by Ellen Hopkins -- Realistic story of a teenage girl's addiction to meth. I'm torn about the ending. One the one hand, it seems a little preachy and too convenient. On the other hand. it is not uncommon among addicts.


9. Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-time Eater by Frank Bruni -- It's not too often you read about body image concerns and insecurities from a man's perspective, much less a man who makes his living as a food critic.

10. Falling Out of Fashion by Karen Yampolsky -- Standard chick lit fare, but holds a special place in my heart because it's a thinly veiled account of Jane magazine's demise. Jane had also been the editor of Sassy magazine, which I adored and which was the first magazine I ever subscribed to. Teenagers today totally missed out on that one. Jane wasn't as great as Sassy, but sometimes one has to take what one can get.

11. The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee -- A tale of ill-fated lovers in Hong Kong's expatriate community, both during WWII and the decade following.