Sue

I’ve been thinking about joining this challenge now that my 2009 challenges are winding down, and since two of my book club reading buddies are doing it, I figured why not?  The new books will be the hardest for me because they don’t show up at my used book stores very often, but now that I have a library card, I can find new books.

2010-?

2009:  Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins; The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown

2008:  The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman

2007

2006

2005:  The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, by Kim Edwards

2004:  Snakewater Affair, by Liz Adair

2003

2002

2001

What’s in a Name-2? runs 1 Jan-31 Dec 2009: 6 books that require something specific in the title

• profession
• time of day
• relative
• body part
• building
• medical condition

 (Profession) Captain’s Glory, by William Shatner: This is the third book in the Totality series by Shatner.  The first two books had some action but were setting the stage for the final confrontation in this book.  It had alot of action and moved right along as it tied together all the various threads leading to the climax.  Shatner’s dialogue is written like a Trek episode, in that the dialogue is true to the film characters.  It’s easy to hear each of them saying the words because they are so natural to the whole feel of the characters.  Lots of fun and it had a moral, too.

(Time of Day) Night of Many Dreams, by Gail Tsukiyama: I really like this author.  When I find an author I enjoy, I’m loyal.  This book follows a family in Hong Kong before and after WWII.  The story centers around the two sisters and their aunt and how they each make their way in life.  They follow their dreams, even though they aren’t traditional, and this causes conflict with the mother/sister.  So interesting to watch the story develop.  That’s one of the things I like about Tsukiyama.  You watch the story open up and grow and really come to know the characters, who aren’t caricatures or stock characters, but real people you recognize in real life.  Great read.

(Body Part) Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston: This book showed the development of the main character from a young, unwilling bride who is unhappy, to a runaway bride who becomes an object of status, to an independent woman free to love someone of her choice.  The development arc was very interesting and Hurston’s descriptions of life in 1930’s Florida was fascinating.  She reveals many interesting aspects of rural black life, such as jook joints, harvesting in the muck of the Everglades, relationships with Indians and whites, and the white justice system.  While socially fascinating, it was also a great read.

(Building) Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, by Anne Tyler: This is the third Tyler book I’ve read and her books are about personal relationships.  The dinner in the title takes place in the last chapter and the rest of the book tells the stories of the participants leading up to the dinner.  Each chapter tells more of the life of each of the main characters and the reader pieces together a more complete view of the family members as their story is told or as they are seen through the eyes of the others.  It was a touching book of survival among damaged people.

(Relative) The Memory-Keeper’s Daughter, by Kim Edwards: This book had a haunting theme of loss and secrets, but the language was beautiful.  She was so descriptive of places, feelings, and people.  I loved her photography metaphors and descriptions of light and shadow.  It took me a while to realize that the Memory Keeper was actually David and not Caroline as he tried to suspend time with his camera.  I really enjoyed this book, even though the actual decision that started the whole chain of events was horrific.

(Medical Condition) Born in Fire, by Nora Roberts: This was my first Nora Roberts.  The book was a fun, light read with nothing very philosophical or thought-provoking; a little racy; the first of a trilogy I will probably finish when I want something escapist to read, but she’s not going to be one of my favorite authors.