Book A Month Challenge-- August

The theme for August was "Cold". With work, school, bbq's (real Texas ones), and life we kind of forgot to pick a book for this month's challenge until just recently. Jones has opted out for this month's challenge because he's been busy with work getting ready for school to start. So it's just going to be me. I chose to read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I think it is appropriate for the theme 'cold' mostly because when I think of WWII and Nazi Germany I always imagine snow and coldness (mostly because of I book I read in high school called Night by Elie Wiesel--also recommended). There are also moments in the book that involve cold--brrr! I got cold just reading it. Click HERE to read more about The Book Thief.

And here is my review...



The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is probably the best I've read in a long, long time. The story is of a young girl growing up in Nazi Germany during WWII. The author is amazing. He can create the most wonderful pictures and feelings just with words. Highly recommended!


View all my reviews.

If you want to learn more about the Book A Month Challenge, click HERE.

BAM--May

This month's Book A Month Challenge Theme was Mothers. We didn't really feel much like being serious so we chose to read one of my favorite non-serious books. My secret reason for suggesting it was so I could get Jonesy to read it. The book we read had a lot to do with Mothers... well one mother in particular. It was called: Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom. I have actually blogged about this book before, just click here.

Just to give a little background, here is a little tidbit about the book:

" Lots of women put their careers aside once the kids come along. Kate Connor, for instance, hasn't hunted a demon in ages.
That must be why she missed the one wandering through the pet food aisle of the San Diablo Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, he managed to catch her attention an hour later-when he crashed into the Connor house, intent on killing her.
Now Kate has to clean up the mess in her kitchen, dispose of a dead demon, and pull together a dinner party that will get her husband elected to County Attorney-all without arousing her family's suspicion. Worse yet, it seems the dead demon didn't come alone...
It's time for Kate Connor to go back to work. "

Havilah's Opinion:

This book was a lot of fun for me. I obviously don't have any skills in the demon-hunting industry, but I found that I could very easily relate to the character (mostly because she's a mother, but also because she's awesome and so am I). I rate this book among my favorites; not because it was life-changing or because I was inspired by the story, but because it was fun, exciting and very entertaining. I'm curious to see how my husband felt about the book. Maybe I just loved it because it's about a soccer mom who kicks butt.. or maybe I loved it because it's a great book. Either way, I highly recommend this read!

Jones' opinion:

The book was cute. The main character , as Havilah points out, is a soccer mom who happens to be a retired demon hunter. I thought the action was fairly enjoyable and the dialogue was believable. The twists in the book, however, were easily seen about 30 pages away, and a lot of background information, (such as why the particular manner of dispatching demons works) was sadly lacking. All in all, an enjoyable piece of fluff. This is the first in a series, and Havilah owns the first three, so if I get bored, I may read the rest. I think you can take it or leave it.

BAM--April

Well you might have noticed (or not) that we didn't post for the Book A Month Challenge in March. That is mostly because we were busy and because only Jonesy read the book (I am a slacker--and not that interested in sushi) But just so you know, The Zen of Fish is very highly recommended by Jonesy. He's just been too busy to write about it. So read it

This month, the opposite happened. I read the book we chose and Jonesy didn't. I think it's mostly because he has no interest in beauty. The theme for April was 'beauty' so we chose to read Memoirs of a Geisha. We thought this would be appropriate for the theme because Geisha are all about beauty. An important thing I learned from the book is that being a Geisha is not only about physical beauty. In fact, that has little to do with the beauty of a Geisha. The clothes they wear, the dances they do, the music they play and the conversations they have are more the type of beauty that defines them. Being a Geisha is an artform.

Anyway, the book is a story about a young girl who is sold to become a Geisha. She goes through many trials, both physically and emotionally. The author did an amazing job of telling the story. It flowed perfectly. I really enjoyed reading about another culture and getting a glimpse into a lifestyle that I had preconceived notions about that were completely wrong. If you've seen the movie you might think that you don't need to read the book. I rented the movie after I read the book and was sorely disappointed. The plot is all wrong, the characters are not the same; it's like a whole other story (a crappy one). So read the book, please! This book is highly recommended!

BAM--February

So I bet you are ALL wondering why we haven't posted a blurb on the Book A Month Challenge for February. Well I'll tell you why! Because we are lazy. The theme of the month of February was 'Heart'. We chose to read Princess Bride by William Goldman because it deals with the issues of true love (which have everything to do with the heart--not really but figuratively). Jonesy was not looking forward to reading a 'love book' so we decided on one that a man can enjoy just as much as a woman. So here are our reviews:

Havilah said:

This book is about: "Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles." For those of you who have seen the movie and never read the book, I must tell you that you are missing out on a lot of the story. There are fun/interesting back stories on each character that make the story come more alive. Prince Humperdinck, for example, has a lot more to him in the book than he has in the movie. Fezzik and Inigo have more adventures together that are funny and exciting. The book is very well-written with many jokes (subtle and not-so-subtle) This is one book that I would recommend for everyone to include in their library. If you feel satisfied by the movie I promise you will feel even more satisfied by reading the book. Read the book!

Jones said:

Well, I thought this was a fun book when I first read it about 8 years ago, and it was nice to revisit it. I had, of course, seen the movie, and it is one of my favorite from my childhood, ('cept that kissing crap) Now, usually, people say the book is better than the film. I am not too sure in this case. While, like Havilah, I thought the back stories on each character were awesome, and I personally think that Humperdink was much better than the films foppy version, the pacing of the book was annoying at times. See, it's supposedly a translation of a classic Florentine text (it's not) and the author interrupts at times to say he's cutting out boring parts, (which he did in a humorous manner, so they worked fine) or to complain about his frigid wife or fat son (which I didn't like) or to explore his thoughts on love (which were o.k., sometimes). I thought it was unnecessary at times, and it kind of put me off. The writing was very good. Many of my favorite one liners actually came from the book, and it was a delight to read them. Plus, there were many more that I think should have been included. The ending, was...unsatisfying. And abrupt. The imagery was good, and overall, it's a good book. I would, however, recommend that you get the 25th anniversary edition of "The Princess Bride", because as I recall, some of the things I didn't like in this version were gone in that one. But I could be wrong. Final say, it was a fun read, but despite the extra stufff, it doesnt quite replace the movie, in my opinion.

Oh and on a final note, the BAMC theme for March is 'craft.' We are having a very difficult time deciding on a book for this one. If any of you know of a book that has ANYTHING to do with 'craft' let us know!

"Ivory: A Legend of Past and Future" by Mike Resnick

So we read our book for the Book A Month Challenge. This month's theme was Time. We chose to read a book called Ivory: A Legend of Past and Future bye Mike Resnick. Here are our reviews:

Jones:

I really liked the book.


Oh, you want more? Here's the lowdown from Amazon:

In the year 6303, when earth is bare of anything larger than an insect or a mouse and most people have left for the stars, Duncan Rojas receives a most unusual visitor. His name is Bukoba Mandaka, and he is the last of the Maasai. Mandaka wants Rojas, senior researcher for Braxton's Records of Big Game, to find the tusks of the Kilimanjaro Elephant, tusks that weigh over 200 lb. each.

Lately I have found that if a book doesn't grab me the 1st 3 chapters or so, I have to put it down. I'm an old man, and my time is precious. Ivory, however, kept my attention the whole time. The story is a futuristic armchair detective story, with Rojas searching for the tusks via his computer. The tale isn't boring however, because every clue in the tusks story is told in a very well written manner. The book uses the tusks as a device to tie together a number of different stories across space and time, which are sometimes sobering, sometimes hilarious. The book slowed down a bit at the end, and after his journey, the main character doesn't change much, which considering his personality is a bit of a disappointment. But overall, I quite enjoyed it. Yay.


Havilah:

I really liked this book too. I went into it thinking it was going to be a book about a man who travels through time to do his detecting. But I was very surprised. Instead of actually traveling through time, his computer searches records. Every time it finds more about the tusks, we (as readers) are transported through time to witness the story firsthand. I don't know if I've ever read a book quite like this one. It is a bunch of short stories that span over 5000 years and are all interconnected. It is true that in the end, after going through an unforgettable experience, the character does not change much. I think by doing this, the author points out one of man's major flaws: inability to change. The book explores issues of culture, history and identity while at the same time imagining the future's culture and even the future's history (read the book.. that sentence will make more sense). I have put this on my imaginary list of favorite books (which basically means that I really liked it).

If you are looking for something fun to read that is a little different from your usual book, pick this one up!

Stay tuned for our announcement of our choice of Feburary's BAM Challenge book. (just as soon as we find out what the theme is). If you want to join us on this adventure click here.