Book 19: The Dogs of Babel

I will be starting 'The Dogs of Babel' by Carolyn Parkhurst tonight or tomorrow. This was one of the books that my mom saved for me from my Grandma's house. I had never heard of it before, but my mom says it was really good. It's a story of a man whose wife dies under strange circumstances and the only witness at the time of her death was their dog. The man searches for clues into her death through the help of the dog. Sounds kind of cheesy but interesting at the same time.

Book 18: The Girl who Played with Fire

I just started 'The Girl Who Played With Fire' by Stieg Larsson. I think I am really going to enjoy this book. I thought the first book in this series started out a little slow, so it took me awhile to get interested. But this book caught my attention from the first sentence. I am interested to see how Lisbeth and Mikael will be brought together again in the book.

Book 17: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I am headed to the library to get 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' by Stieg Larrson. I didn't really know what this book was about, but it had a catchy title and so many people who have read it really liked it. A brief description says that is a story of crime and corruption focusing on a wealthy Swedish industrial family. This is the first book in his "Millenium Trilogy". I hope I like the book enough to want to read the other two.

Book 16: The Other Boleyn Girl

I am starting 'The Other Boleyn Girl' by Philippa Gregory today. I know that several of my friends have read this book and really liked it. I was over at a friend's house for Thanksgiving and asked to borrow a book. She told me to try this one. She is a huge Henry VIII fan and said this was a really interesting story. several people have also said that Gregory is a great story teller. I hope I like it as much as every one else does.

Book 15: Who Will Run the Frog Hospital?

My 15th book is going to be 'Who Will Run the Frog Hospital?' by Lorrie Moore. I have to say that I know nothing about this book, but I saw it on someone else's book list and thought it had an interesting title. I looked up a description and it is a story of a woman who realizes she is no longer in love with her husband and reflects upon a friendship she had in New York when she was 15.
I read a few short stories by Moore in college, so I am interested to see what one of her novels is like.

Book 14: Under the Skin

I just started 'Under the Skin' by Michel Faber. From the description it is a book about a woman who picks up hitchhikers to fit her fantasies. I am not very far into the book, but I am already interested in the story.

Book 13: Blue Like Jazz

I am starting 'Blue Like Jazz' by Donald Miller tonight. A lot of my friends have read this book and said that they really liked it. "Spiritual books" have really been keeping me interested lately, but there is a wait list for this book at the library, so I feel like I need to read it now since I can't renew it. I'm hoping I enjoy it.

Book 12: And Then There Were None

My 12th book will be 'And Then There Were None' by Agatha Christie. I am so excited to start this book. It has been a really long time since I read a mystery book.

Book #11: The Red Tent

My 11th book for the challenge is 'The Red Tent' by Anita Diamant. I have heard several good reviews about this book. I am excited to learn a little more about the historical bible story of Dinah.

Book #10: The Shack

I am starting 'The Shack' by William P. Young today. I read the inside cover and the story sounds really interesting.

Book #9: Handle With Care

I am starting book 9 tonight: 'Handle With Care' by Jodi Picoult. I read 'My Sister's Keeper' and liked that the story kept me interested, even though I didn't like the ending of the story. I read a chapter of this at the end of the other book and thought the story sounded interesting, but terribly sad. I am going to give her writing another chance, because a lot of people tell me they love her stories.

Book #8: A Little Bit Wicked

I am starting 'A Little Bit Wicked' an autobiography of Kristin Chenoweth today. I only saw a couple episodes of 'Pushing Daisies', so I wasn't really familiar with her. She was on 'Ellen' one day promoting this book and I just thought it might be an interesting read.

Finished Book #7

I just finished my 7th book, 'When you are Engulfed in Flames' by David Sedaris. I liked most of this book, but still don't think it was as good as some of his earlier work. I prefer more stories about his childhood and relationship with his family. I still laughed out loud a few times, just not as much as I did in 'Naked' and 'Me Talk Pretty One Day'. I also didn't care for the last chapter of the book, but his show was so good. And I still find him one of the most hilarious people ever.

Finished Book #6: Pigs in Heaven

I just finished 'Pigs in Heaven' by Barbara Kingsolver. I loved this story. It was so sad and heartwarming to see the lengths a mother can go through for her child, whether adoptive or biological. I really enjoyed the relationship between Taylor and Turtle. I am looking forward to reading 'The Bean Trees' to learn more about this relationship.
It was such a good read from the beginning. I was so surprised to have a happy ending. It seems like there aren't enough of those now days.

Books 6 and 7

Today I am starting 2 books to count as books #6 and #7. One is 'Pigs in Heaven' by Barbara Kingsolver and the other is 'When you are Engulfed in Flames' by David Sedaris. I have read the first essay in the Sedaris Novel and am already laughing at his sarcastic humor about his life. I will probably start the Kingsolver tonight as I am excited to read it because I have heard a lot of good reviews about it.

Book #5: The Art of Racing in the Rain

'The Art of Racing in the Rain' by Garth Stein is a book club selection by the Grove City Library for October. I can't go to the discussion since it is on Thursday nights and we have swim lessons plus good tv night, but I thought I would give the book a try. I have read a couple of the other books they had previous months and have a mixed review of the selections. I have never heard of this book before. It is also listed as one of the favorites by the library staff, so I hope it's good.

Book #4: Barrel Fever

The 4th book I am reading is 'Barrel Fever' by David Sedaris. I am a huge Sedaris fan after reading a few of his other works, my favorites being 'Naked' and 'Me Talk Pretty One Day'. Levi surprised me and ordered tickets to see Sedaris in Columbus in a couple of weeks, so I thought it would be a great time to pick up another book of his.

Book #3: The Help

I am starting my 3rd book today. It is 'The Help' by Kathryn Stockett. This was a book club selection for the month of September, but I had been on the library waiting list for over 2 months. So far I've been really happy every time I have been number 800 on a waiting list, so I hope the same is true for this book.

Book #2: The Poisonwood Bible

I will be starting 'The Poisonwood Bible' by Barbara Kingslover tomorrow (9-21-09). I am very excited to start this book. I have heard so many good reviews about it from all who have read it. It's great to be less than a week into this challenge and already starting the second book. I hope the rest of the year will continued to be filled with lots of reading.

Book #1: The guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I started my first book last night. It is 'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society' by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. It is written in letter format in the time period following WWII.

50 Book Challenge

My friend Lindsey decided that she is going to participate in a Book Challenge to read 50 books within one year. I became a follower and decided to do the challenge too. I am starting this as of September 16, 2009. Wish me luck with one of my favorite activities. I'm new to blogging, so I'm thinking that updating this will actually be more of a challenge for me than the reading.