A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

I loved this book. It took me awhile (I'd say 150 pages or so) to really get into it because almost immediately you know the ending. The fun part is reading the middle and trying to figure out how it will all fit together. I won't fool you--I was scared by the 600 pages that I had to read for my book club. I was a little put off by the use of CAPITAL LETTERS for everything OWEN SAID. You get used to it though--keep reading!

There is so many symbols in the book--the dummy, the red dress, the baseball, the armadillo. You wonder what they all mean. Each one plays a role as a result of Owen's death. I didn't see it coming, but Irving really set up different aspects of the story to all come together at the end. His storytelling is so rich and you know the characters inside and out by the end. You don't want it to end.

Highly recommend adding this to your MUST READ list!

Wow! I didn't realize it had been that long since I had last posted on my blog here. I'll have to get back on track here, but for now here are my thoughts on these books. I've read some books since Feb 1st:
"Bleeding Kansas" by Sara Paretsky--pretty good story, but sometimes dragged in the middle as well
"Scarpetta" by Patricia Cornwell--a little slow in the middle, but redeemed itself at the end.
"My Antonia" by Willa Cather--very good book, definitely read it if you haven't, Cather's writing was very good and the novel generated a lot of good discussion with my book group (see lovestoeatlovestoread.blogspot.com)
"Just One Look" by Harlan Coben--fun mystery that I listened to on the way to work

Code to Zero by Ken Follett

I am now a huge fan of Ken Follett. I listened to this book on CD. The narrorator was fantastic...I forget his name, but it's the version published by Recorded Books.

This was a great spy story. The main character, Luke, wakes up in a public restroom in DC not knowing who he is. The whole story is about him figuring out who he really is through the people around him. It's set against the backdrop of the launch of the first satellite/rocket into space in the early 60s. It kept me on the edge of my seat and was very entertaining. I recommend this one for anyone who likes good mysteries with a love story thrown in for extra good measure.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Ok. Now I've wanted to read Wuthering Heights for a long time now. I think I bought the copy I have over a year ago...maybe even two years ago now. It took me a little while to get going and once I did I was really enjoying it. I had to put it down in the middle to finish "Beside a Burning Sea" for book club which hurt my momentum. I did finish it this morning though.

I have to say, I didn't love this book. I know it's a classic, but I found the story to be really sad. Two people who love each other, but then marry other people. Hello? No happy ending for those two people. Then their children, who are cousins, end up together at the end after they say some hurtful things to each other and act stupid.

I'll say that the writing style takes getting used to and is just as difficult to read as Jane Austen is. I really loved "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte (sister of Emily)--story was great and writing style was easy to read. WH was the opposite.

I will say that even though I wasn't thrilled with this one, I'm glad I can say that I've read it. Another crossed off my forever growing list of books to read.

I'm sure Nancy will post on "Beside A Burning Sea" at lovestoeatlovestoread.blogspot.com. I really enjoyed that one--fast paced read with love stories and a villian during WWII. It was fun...some of the gals in bookclub didn't think so. It was a fun discussion though.

"Whiteout" by Ken Follett

Hi Everyone! Happy New Year!

I just recently finished listening to "Whiteout" by Ken Follett. It was excellent--a real thriller. It takes place in Scotland starting on Christmas Eve. The main character Toni Gallo works for a lab that is trying to find the cure for cancer and other diseases. Her lab gets broken into and the deadly virus is stolen. It's a wild-goose chase that is entertaining and thrilling.

I'm in the middle of two other books: "Beside a Burning Sea" by John Shors for book club and "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte. I had to put WH down so that I could get our book club book read by next week. They are both very good, but I'll write more about them later.

Hope you all are finding good books to read so far in 2009.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

This book was a bestseller for many weeks. This book is a must-read for any American. It is inspiring. In 1993, Mortenson gets lost after attempting to climb the mountain, K2 in Pakistan. He ends up in a tiny rural village, Korphe where he meets an elderly man who nurses him back to health. Mortenson promises to come back and build a school when he sees that the Pakistani government hasn't been able to get to their village yet. It takes Mortenson about 3 years to get all of the funding and building materilas, but he manages to build a school for this village. He especially wants the young girls to have an opportunity at a secular education.

In no way does Mortenson push his Christian beliefs on the Muslim peoples in the rural regions of Pakistan. He believes that if we educate the girls it will build a strong foundation in these countries. Girls will bring their sons up to get a good education and not resort to the madrassas (the training schools for the Taliban and the like).

The book takes us through the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Mortenson was kidnapped by the Taliban for 8 days in a rural area in Afghanistan. This was prior to 9/11 however it must have been a hair-raising experience that he will never forget.

Mortenson has founded the Central Asia Institute of which he runs and has built schools all over this region of the world. He has accomplished so much in 15 years it's unbelievable.

A must-read.

Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner and The Shack by William P. Young

This was the sequel to "Good in Bed", Weiner's first book. I have to say I was a little disappointed by the ending. There's a twist that I wasn't expecting and I didn't feel like it furthered the plot along, however all in all I enjoyed where Weiner took Cannie and her character. It was fun to see Cannie as a mom and to see how she meanders through life with an almost 13 year old daughter.

The Shack was about a man, named Mackenzie having an experience finding God. He turns out to be a middle-aged large black lady named "Papa". Jesus is a Middle-Eastern young man who is a you-guessed-it carpenter. The Holy Spirit is an Asian woman, Sarayu who you can't really see or tell if she's hugging you. It was an easy read and very interesting point of view of the Trinity and Young's version of Christianity. I did feel like he was saying churches shouldn't be relevant in your relationship which to a certain degree may be true. Maybe Young was saying that it doesn't matter which church you go to which I do agree with. It was a good read--I would recommend it.