Book 24: The Lovely Bones

It seems like everyone I know has read 'The Lovely Bones' by Alice Sebold, so I thought I'd read it and have something to discuss with people. I borrowed it from a friend so I can take it with me on vacation. I am really excited to read this since I have heard so many good things about it. And being a Mark Wahlberg fan I would love to see the movie, but I am a little obsessive about reading a book before I see the movie.

Book 23: Holidays on Ice

I am starting 'Holidays on Ice' by David Sedaris right now. I really wanted to read this around the holidays, but somebody had this book checked out for almost 2 months. This should be a really quick read since it is only 125 pages and I have read 2 of the 5 short stories in his other books. How could someone not read 125 pages in 2 months? Anyway, I want to finish this and return it to the library before vacation and then continue with book number 22.

Book 22: Player Piano

I am starting another book from our bookshelf, 'Player Piano' by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Levi said this is one of his favorite or maybe his favorite Vonnegut novel. I have only read one other book by him and thought it was just okay, so I am going to try another one. 'Player Piano' is about a man trying to live in a world that is ran by machines and a super computer. I asked Levi if it was similar to '1984' and he said it's the same concept, but isn't the same writing style.

Book 21: The Hotel New Hampshire

I am going to start 'The Hotel New Hampshire' by John Irving later today. This is one of Levi's books off our shelf that I haven't read yet. I am trying to find a good, short description of this book, but haven't found one yet. Most reviews say this book is about the Berry family and the dad's idea to run a hotel out of a former girl's boarding school in New Hampshire. There is supposed to be a large focus on each member of the family. I'm interested to see what this story is about.

Here is a quote listed on the back of the book. "The first of my father's illusions was that bears could survive the life lived by human beings, and the second was that human beings could survive a life led in hotels".

Book 20: The Secret Life of Bees

I am starting my 20th book in the challenge, 'The Secret Life of Bees' by Sue Monk Kidd. This is a book I have been wanting to read for a long time, but have never got around to it. I saw it on my friend's bookshelf while I was putting away Christmas decorations and decided to borrow it.
It is the story of a girl whose mother is murdered and her "stand-in" mother does not get along well with people in town. They both flee the town and go to live with some black beekeeping sisters. They learn the life of beekeeping and the importance of friends. This really sounds like a story that I will love.