Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books. -From Isola Pribby to Juliet, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society- Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows’ first novel will certainly ruin you ‘for enjoying bad books.’ Set on the island of Guernsey (in the Channel Islands) in the months following the Second World …
July 2008 archive
Jul 29
Chunkster Challenge – 2008

January 7 – December 20, 2008
1. Books must be at least 450 pages (regular type)
2. You have to read a minimum of 4 (one per quarter)
3. Any chunkster started after January 1st qualifies
4. Books must be reviewed
…And there are prizes (yay!)
I will choose from the following list of books:
1. The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky (702 pages)
2. Cancer Ward, by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (536 pages)
3. Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts (933 pages)
4. The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett (973 pages)
5. World Without End, by Ken Follett (1014 pages)
6. HeyDay, by Kurt Anderson (620 pages)
7. Lisey’s Story, by Steven King (509 pages)
8. War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy (1215 pages)
9. The Winter Rose, by Jennifer Donnelly (707 pages) – COMPLETED January 5, 2008; rated 4/5; read my review.
10. Conversation in the Cathedral, by Mario Vargas Llosa (601 pages)
Jul 29
The ARC Reading Challenge
June 21, 2008 – September 21, 2008 UPDATE July 29, 2008: CHALLENGE COMPLETED. I finished 4 ARCs and read part way through a 5th (but didn’t complete it) which means technically, I’ve finished this challenge. BUT, since the challenge actually runs through September 21st and I still have tons of ARCs on my shelf, I’m …
Jul 29
The 19th Wife – Book Review
I am but one, yet to this day countless others lead lives even more destitute and enslaved than mine ever was. Perhaps my story is the exception because I escaped, at great risk, polygamy’s conjugal chains; and that my husband is the Mormon Church’s Prophet and Leader, Brigham Young, and I am his 19th and …
Jul 28
Mailbox Monday – July 28, 2008
Marcia at The Printed Page is hosting this fun weekly event – each Monday bloggers share the books which have arrived in their mailbox that week. I have had a very lucrative week regarding books, so I thought it would be fun to play along with Marcia. Advance Reader’s Editions which arrived this week in …
Jul 26
Sunday Salon – July 27, 2008
July 27, 2008 Good morning! Last week I did not post a Salon entry because I was out of town doing something quite bookish. Over the last year, I have met several women on Library Thing who I have grown to respect and adore. We decided to meet in person at the amazing Sylvia Beach …
Jul 26
AND THE WINNER IS…
ALISIA from Book Haven! Congratulations, Alisia. I’m sending you an email and if you could kindly respond with your mailing address, I will send your book out immediately! I chose the winner randomly after writing all the names on slips of paper, mixing them up and having my husband draw a name from the hat. …
Jul 25
Amazing Video…
Jul 25
Friday Finds – July 25, 2008
July 25, 2008 I missed this event last week as I was out of town…but I bookmarked some blogs which have fueled my list this week! **Click on book titles to take you to Amazon; click on blog links to take you to that blogger’s review of the book. 1. The Foreigner, by Francie Lin …