Book 53: Darkly Dreaming Dexter

I am starting 'Darkly Dreaming Dexter' by Jeff Lindsay tonight. This is the story of a blood splatter expert who is a serial killer of "bad people". He starts to worry when a string of brutal murders using his style shows up.
Lindsey is the only person I know who has read this book and she seemed to like it. Everyone has been talking about the tv show lately and it is one that I would really like to watch from the beginning if I get time. I thought I would give the first book a shot before I start watching the series.

Book 52: Good Bones and Simple Murders

I just started 'Good Bones and Simple Murders' by Margaret Atwood. This is a book of short stories and poems with twists on fairy tales and traditional stories. So far I've read the first four and liked three of them. I didn't really understand one the of the stories even after reading it three times. I guess there are some hidden meanings that just go over my head. I have been wanting to read some of Atwood's books for awhile, but this is the only one that was on the shelf at the library. Even after just a few pages, I think I would be interested in reading more of her books.

Book 51: Push

My 51st book will be Push by Sapphire. I heard about this book before I knew there was a movie, but I never got around to reading it. Then with all the hype of the movie Precious I thought I'd wait a while before reading the book.
This is the story of a girl named Precious who has a very hard life. She is raped by her father and beaten by her mother. When Precious is pregnant with her 2nd child she meets a teacher who tries to turn her life in the right direction. I am thinking Dangerous Minds meets The Bluest Eye, or some similar combo. I hope the book and movie are worth all the attention.

Completed 50 Book Challenge

I finished my last book in the 50 Book Challenge today. I can't even remember all 50 books that I read, so I'm really glad Lindsey convinced me to do this blog. There were several books that I loved and several that I didn't. I really think that the challenge helped me to finish every book I started even when I didn't think I would like it. Some I ended up really liking after I got part of the way through. I think I am going to continue the challenge and see how many books I can read by the end of a year's time. Thanks so much Lindsey for the idea!

Book 50!!!!

Yay! I'm starting book #50 today. I will be reading 'A Girl Named Zippy' by Haven Kimmel. This is a memoir of Kimmel's story of growing up in a small town in Mooreland, Indiana. She was nicknamed Zippy at a young age for the way she ran around the house. I think this will be an interesting book for me because I grew up in the small town of Gilman, Wisconsin. When I say small town, I don't mean a couple thousand people, I mean about 400. Mooreland has a population of about 300 and has since 1940, this is the same as Gilman. I think the population sign in town has said 406 people for as far back as I can remember. I'm curious to see if there are any similarities between the two towns. It's definitely a different way of life than living in a bigger city.

Book #49: The Weight of Silence

I am starting 'The Weight of Silence' by Heather Gudenkauf today. I have heard lots of good reviews about this book from everyone who has read it. It is the story of two little girls who go missing one night in a small town in Iowa. Their families are looking for the answer of what happened to the girls and find some unspoken family secrets.

Book #48: A Mercy

Today I am starting 'A Mercy' by Toni Morrison. I am a sucker for slave stories, so I always end up loving all of her books. This is a story of a young girl who is sold to a trader in exchange for a bad debt from a plantation owner. The girl's mother agrees to give her daughter away in hopes of saving her life, but the daughter feels she can never forgive her mother for her abandonment.

Book #47: A memoir by Elna Baker

Today I am going to start reading a memoir by Elna Baker titled 'The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance'. I really didn't know much about this book, but the title is very catchy. It's about a Mormon girl growing up in New York City. She is trying to balance her Mormon traditions in her life without caving into all of life's temptations.