Updated List

On my way to 100 books ...

1. The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman
2. The Subtle Knife - Philip Pullman
3. The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman
4. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
5. Innocent in Death - J.D. Robb
6. Seven Up - Janet Evanovich
7. Hard Eight - Janet Evanovich
8. Unconditional Parenting - Alfie Kohn
9. To the Nines - Janet Evanovich
10. Tourist Season - Carl Hiaasen
11. The Secret Life of Bees - Sun Monk Kidd
12. Crazy Time: Surviving Divorce and Building a New Life - Abigail Trafford
13. Ten Big Ones - Janet Evanovich
14. Guilty Pleasures - Laurell K. Hamilton
15. The Ruby in the Smoke - Philip Pullman16. Double Whammy - Carl Hiaasen
17. The Accidental Tourist - Anne Tyler
18. Blood Brothers - Nora Roberts
19. Eleven on Top - Janet Evanovich
20. The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing - Melissa Bank
21. Zlata's Diary - Zlata Filipovic
22. The Reading Group - Elizabeth Noble
23. Heartburn - Nora Ephron
24. The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls
25. Twelve Sharp - Janet Evanovich
26. Girl, Interrupted - Susanna Kaysen
27. Lean, Mean Thirteen - Janet Evanovich
28. Plum Lovin' - Janet Evanovich

Lean, Mean Thirteen

Another great Stephanie Plum mystery. I laughed out loud many times, waking my poor 6-month-old sleeping peacefully on my back.

How was she sleeping on my back you ask? Let me tell you (and slip a link in for a contest) - she sleeps on my back in her fab BabyHawk mei tai, and by sleeps I mean takes all of her naps there. So while she spends 5-6 hours a day snoozing on my back, I tear through books like a woman possessed. Bliss.

Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)

Girl, Interrupted

Another memoir. This one was a bit more uncomfortable to read, because it asks the question - why is one person crazy enough for an institution while the rest of us aren't? I'm fairly certain we all have some 'crazy' thoughts or thought processes, and that we all experience some of the things the author was institutionalized for ... we just manage to keep the common threads a bit more under control :)

This was a really good book, however, and one I'd recommend. But now I'm on to Lean Mean Thirteen because I need a little fluff!

Books 24 and 25

The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls: An amazing memoir. Just amazing.

Twelve Sharp - Janet Evanovich: My favorite Stephanie Plum book to date ... all that Ranger time ... mmm

On my way to 100 books ...

1. The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman
2. The Subtle Knife - Philip Pullman
3. The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman
4. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
5. Innocent in Death - J.D. Robb
6. Seven Up - Janet Evanovich
7. Hard Eight - Janet Evanovich
8. Unconditional Parenting - Alfie Kohn
9. To the Nines - Janet Evanovich
10. Tourist Season - Carl Hiaasen
11. The Secret Life of Bees - Sun Monk Kidd
12. Crazy Time: Surviving Divorce and Building a New Life - Abigail Trafford
13. Ten Big Ones - Janet Evanovich
14. Guilty Pleasures - Laurell K. Hamilton
15. The Ruby in the Smoke - Philip Pullman16. Double Whammy - Carl Hiaasen
17. The Accidental Tourist - Anne Tyler
18. Blood Brothers - Nora Roberts
19. Eleven on Top - Janet Evanovich
20. The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing - Melissa Bank
21. Zlata's Diary - Zlata Filipovic
22. The Reading Group - Elizabeth Noble
23. Heartburn - Nora Ephron
24. The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls
25. Twelve Sharp - Janet Evanovich

Heartburn

This is Nora Ephron's first novel. You know the name from her screen plays, especially When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle.

I chose this book because the characters in my previous selection, The Reading Group, read it and I liked the summary - it's a book about the breakup of a marriage, but it manages to be funny and poignant all at once.

I could really relate to Rachel, who discovers her husband's affair when she's 7 months pregnant. Especially since he claims he's in love with the woman, has made plans for a future with her, but claims not to have a physical relationship with her. I'm picking a lot of books that deal directly or indirectly with divorce, and this has been my favorite so far.

The Reading Group

A really fun, yet insightful, book about five women who form a book club. I loved the differences yet similarities in the womens' lives, and how their friendships developed (or deepened) over the course of the year. When I finished reading, it took me a few hours to remember that they were just characters and not friends of mine.

On my way to 100 books ...

1. The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman
2. The Subtle Knife - Philip Pullman
3. The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman
4. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
5. Innocent in Death - J.D. Robb
6. Seven Up - Janet Evanovich
7. Hard Eight - Janet Evanovich
8. Unconditional Parenting - Alfie Kohn
9. To the Nines - Janet Evanovich
10. Tourist Season - Carl Hiaasen
11. The Secret Life of Bees - Sun Monk Kidd
12. Crazy Time: Surviving Divorce and Building a New Life - Abigail Trafford
13. Ten Big Ones - Janet Evanovich
14. Guilty Pleasures - Laurell K. Hamilton
15. The Ruby in the Smoke - Philip Pullman16. Double Whammy - Carl Hiaasen
17. The Accidental Tourist - Anne Tyler
18. Blood Brothers - Nora Roberts
19. Eleven on Top - Janet Evanovich
20. The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing - Melissa Bank
21. Zlata's Diary - Zlata Filipovic
22. The Reading Group - Elizabeth Noble
23. Heartburn - Nora Ephron

Zlata's Diary

I wrapped this up this morning. Zlata is a young girl living in Sarajevo, and her diary chronicles the period just before the Bosnian War began, until her departure from Sarajevo in late 1993. It's akin to "The Diary of Anne Frank", without the tragic ending, although it is not without tragedy. It was a fast read, and one I'd recommend, simply for the perspective gained. Most of us are fortunate enough to have led 'normal' childhoods, and have lived without any war or strife - it's important that we recognize and sympathize with those who have not. Both in the hope of learning from them and preventing it from happening again, and also in the spirit of being thankful for all that we have and all that we have not had to experience.

Books 17, 18, 19 and 20

The Accidental Tourist - Anne Tyler

The timing of reading this book couldn't possibly have been more opportune, as it deals with separation. I could really relate to the protagonist, Macon Leary, as he struggled to come to terms with his wife's departure, and took heart as he grew - slowly and uncomfortably - into his new life.

Blood Brothers - Nora Roberts

The first in the Sign of the Seven trilogy. I love Roberts' writing as JD Robb, so I figured I'd give her main writing persona a shot. A well-written novel, though not as plot-twisty as I would have liked ... doesn't mean I won't round out the trilogy in time, just that I prefer her Eve Dallas 'In Death' series.

Eleven on Top - Janet Evanovich

Another great Stephanie Plum book. Laugh-out-loud funny but still a well developed mystery. I'm finding myself more and more drawn to Ranger instead of the hot cop, Morelli, too.

The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing - Melissa Bank

"Beautiful and funny and sad and true", one of my favorite lines from the book captures its essence. A fast read, but an enjoyable one.

Carl Hiaasen - Double Whammy

I find myself really enjoying Carl Hiaasen's books. The characters and the plot twists are very well developed, and the undercurrent of 'all the development and crap in Florida really sucks, let's give the land back to the gators, the birds and the bugs' is something that I, as an ex-Floridian can appreciate. That I was a Floridian by way of Wisconsin, likely made me part of the problem, but hey, I moved there when it wasn't being so totally and thoroughly despoiled and I hated watching the beach and nature give way to the relentless march of condos, time shares and outlet malls.

His anti-heroes (well, they're heroes for the state of Florida, not necessarily for the folks in the book) are usually pretty bizarre characters, but I find myself liking them and rooting for them, even when they find themselves on the wrong side of the law. In the two books of Hiaasen's I've read so far, the anti-hero is a man who finds himself thoroughly disgusted with the state of development in Florida. That disgust tends to blur the line between right and wrong, or at least our societal sense of right and wrong, but in an almost-understandable way. In much the same way that, as a mother, I can understand how a person gets to the point of *wanting* to shake a baby, but I cannot understand *why* or *how* they do it, I can empathize with Hiaasen's anti-heroes' feeling of contempt and disgust, even if I couldn't cross the line to the actions they take.

On my way to 100 books ...

1. The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman
2. The Subtle Knife - Philip Pullman
3. The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman
4. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
5. Innocent in Death - J.D. Robb
6. Seven Up - Janet Evanovich
7. Hard Eight - Janet Evanovich
8. Unconditional Parenting - Alfie Kohn
9. To the Nines - Janet Evanovich
10. Tourist Season - Carl Hiaasen
11. The Secret Life of Bees - Sun Monk Kidd
12. Crazy Time: Surviving Divorce and Building a New Life - Abigail Trafford
13. Ten Big Ones - Janet Evanovich
14. Guilty Pleasures - Laurell K. Hamilton
15. The Ruby in the Smoke - Philip Pullman
16. Double Whammy - Carl Hiaasen
17. The Accidental Tourist - Anne Tyler
18. Blood Brothers - Nora Roberts
19. Eleven on Top - Janet Evanovich
20. The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing - Melissa Bank
21. Zlata's Diary - Zlata Filipovic

The Ruby in the Smoke

Another Philip Pullman book, another young heroine - and another almost impossibly clever one, at that - no mother, a hidden father ...

Don't get me wrong. I like his writing, and I like strong female leads. And, like the His Dark Material trilogy, this first book in the Sally Lockhart series is a great read. I'm just left wondering what the story is behind the almost-formulaic plot. Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, thinks his mom hung the moon and stars; he describes her as "extraordinary, inspirational, tough, cool, sexy, funny woman" and credits his father and stepfather with showing him that was not only okay, but desirable. So I now why he writes strong female characters. Pullman's father died when he was 7 (there's some suspicion he killed himself by crashing his RAF plane), and his mother remarried, to a friend of his father's. Since his mother seems to be the most consistent adult in his life - and he's said he often imagines what his father was like, and wonders if he's still alive ... actually, that kind of makes sense - he creates a real father because he needs to, and allows the mother to be more of a shadow.