Prague News

Once a year I like to give a little round up of what I have read. It seems a lot of ya'll appreciate some ideas of what to read, and I am a huge dork who likes to make lists. So...Here is this years list of what I have read. Enjoy!

OCTOBER
*Darkmans - Nicola Barker: Um, yeah...a little tough to get through. Let me know if you managed to finish this one.
*Even Cowgirls Get the Blues - Read it about 4 times...love it every time

NOVEMBER
*The Portrait - Ian Pears: Strange little book about art and revenge and the art of revenge. It was alright.
*The Book of Laughter and Forgetting - Milan Kundera: Czech author - GREAT read. Love him.

DECEMBER
*No Saints or Angels - Ivan Klima: Another Czech author. Depressing but VERY well writen. About family in Prague...and love and...well...read it.
*Snow Falling On Cedars - I liked this more than I thought I would. The story was less all mushy girl stuff and more - war is bad. Good read.
*The Beach - Loved it! Super fun read and WAY better than the movie. Great narrative voice. Good for anyone who likes to travel

JANUARY
*Sophie's Choice - William Styron: AMAZING. One of the best books I have ever read. That being said, it was also very difficult. Not writing wise, but topic. Just incredible and horrifying.
*Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers: Cute. Being an English teacher added a little something as well. It tells about love and sadness and how it translates into any language. Very sweet and poetic.

FEBRUARY
*Glass Books of the Dream Eaters: Action packed from start to finish. Almost too many characters to keep up with, but a lot of fun.
*The Probable Future: I loved it. Typical Alice Hoffman - magic, love, tragidy. Fun book.

MARCH
*The New Earth - Eckhart Tolle: 2nd time around with this one. READ THIS BOOK.
*This Side of Paradise - F. Scott Fitzgerald: Hi. Pretentious much? Ugh. HATED this. If you want to read about rich young kids and their problems go for it. I had no sympathy for anyone in this book.

APRIL
*Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao: Just perfect. A really fresh new voice and characters you won't forget.
*A Thousand Acres - Jane Smiley: WOW. Great book of family tragedy. Wonderfully written.
*Mosquito Coast: Great, but made me mad at the same time. I guess its good writing when you want to punch a fictional character in the face.

May
*If You Ask Me... - Libby Gellman-Waxner: Movie reviews from the fictional reviewer. Very funny.
*Innocent Traitor: For all of those Phillipa Gregory fans out there. This tells the story of the girl crowned Queen for 9 days and was the...done away with.
*Quiet Belief In Angels - R.J. Ellroy: Someone keeps murdering and dismembering little girls...for about 20 years. The story of how a young boy and a town deal with it. Great book.

JUNE
*Saving Fish From Drowning - Amy Tan: I liked this book. It is a BIG departure from what Amy Tan usually does, but that was a good thing. It gives a really neat perspective on how Americans act and how we THINK we act.
*Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim - Sedaris: Totally funny, as usual.
*The Virgin's Lover - Phillipa Gregory: Yawn. She dialed it in and I didn't pick up. Snooze fest. Fans of hers should pass this one up.

JULY
*The Shadow of the Wind: GREAT murder Mystery set in Spain in the fifties. Really well done!
*pride and prejudice and zombies: WAY tooo much fun. Worth it just for the illustrations.
*Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant - Anne Tyler: Agian, family saga that is very well written.

AUGUST
*The Right Stuff - Wolfe: I might be the only person alive who didn't really like this book. His wrting style gets in the way. I liked the movie better.
*The Constant Gardner - LeCarre" Thriller, murder mystery and love story. It was a fast and good read. I don't usually read these types of books, but this was fun.

September
*The Hummingbird's Daughter - Really beautiful. A lot of the story took place in the town I lived in while in Mexico. This book is full of culture, magic and beauty.
*My Sister, My Love - Joyce Carol Oates: A really different voice for her. She is one of my favorite authors and I really enjoyed the departure she took here. As usual though, the subject matter is dark, violent and disturbing.

So, there ya have it! i will be on to more "bloggy" blogs right quick. Don't fret. I just wanted to get this out. A few of you had been asking... ENJOY!