Joanie’s Comments (group member since May 31, 2008)

Joanie’s comments from the The Complete Idiots Guide to the Ultimate Reading List group.

So far this month I've read...

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

I'm not usually that in to mysteries but I like the protagonist, 11 year old Flavia de Luce, she kept me entertained.

If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern

Cute chick lit story with a little magic thrown in.

Julie and Julia by Julie Powell

Although I wasn't crazy about Julie Powell I did find this to be an enjoyable read.

Confections of a Closet Master Baker by Gesine Bullock-Prado

Loved this. It's about Sandra Bullock's sister who left Hollywood to open a bakery in Vermont.

I'm late to this thread so here are my 3 read so far in February:

The Keep by Jennifer Egan-This was okay but really all over the place. I felt like the author threw out a bunch of stuff but didn't finish all the story lines she created.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins-Book #2 in the Hunger Games series (which I read in January)-I loved this-I've been totally sucked in by this series and now I need to wait until August to read the 3rd book in the series!

Body Surfing by Anita Shreve. I liked this but didn't love it. I did like how Shreve gets into family dynamics and past hurts without really belaboring the point. Definitely entertaining.

I loved this and was sad to see it end. I loved the two story lines of young Jacob and old Jacob (although parts of the latter were so sad.) I listened to some of th audio for this one and it was really well done too. Having two narrators for Jacob really added to the story.

I just got this from the library and I've only read the first page. We'll see I guess.

I read this a few months ago but didnt' realize it was on this list. The book tells the story of a woman whose husband sustains a severe traumatic brain injury when he is struck by a car. I was expecting the book to be more focused on him and his injury but instead the book is about her rebuilding her life and learning to still find joy in things despite what has happened to her husband.

The title comes from an Aborigine custom of sleeping with dogs to keep you warm at night. A really cold night is referred to as a "Three Dog Night." The woman has one dog at the time of her husband's accident but gets two more along the way and she really finds solace and companionship in them.

I have a confession-I took this out of the library but never opened it. It was so long and I had so many other things I wanted to read I decided to take pass on this one. If anyone winds up giving it rave reivews maybe I'll pick it up at some point but not right now.

I finally finished this on Monday and i really liked it. Loved the way they formed a society and how Hazel recognized everyone's unique strengths and used them for the good of the whole warren.

On a funny note, I listed to a lot of this book on tape and the narrator sounded a lot like George Takai (sp?) aka Sulu from Star Trek! It cracked me up.

I got this from the library but I've yet to start it. I have two other books to read for my face to face book clubs and I'm still working on Watership Down so I don't know how well I'll do with this one-plus it's HUGE, kind of daunting to me at this point. I'll be anxious to see your responses to this one, hopefully it will motivate me to get reading.

I'm definitely enjoying the book and for the most part I've been able to suspend disbelief quite well. Today I was printing out Easter bunny pictures for work and kept thinking about the book-gave me a whole new perspective!

Okay, I'm a month behind, I just started this yesterday! I like it so far but I have to keep stopping myself from asking "how could a rabbit do that?" I had the same problem when I read Animal Farm in high school. Hopefully I'll finish this one in time to join you guys on The Historian but I still might be behind. I'm pregnant with baby #2 and fall asleep before I can read more than 5 pages.

My library has a whole shelf of book by OSC but not Ender's Game-ugh! I'm either going to go to the next town over or place a hold online. Not that it's any big hardship or any different from what I do for a lot of books but the fact that they had so many by OSC and just not that ONE irritates me!

Yes Bibliocrates-this is where we post about the book. It's a quick read, I'm sure you'll have no trouble getting through it.

I really liked the dialog in the book but the longer sections of narrative without dialog kind of bored me after a while. Reading the book definitely makes me want to watch the movie again though.

I was really enjoying this at first but it's dragging a bit for me now. I have about 40 pages to go so hopefully I'll finish tonight. I'm hoping the ending is as strong as the beginning-the middle fell a bit flat for me.

I read 85 pages the first night (but only 7 the next-too tired!) and I'm really enjoying it. I have't seen the movie in years, I'll have to watch it soon.

I'm a bit foggy on the details of this one but I liked it. I know the main premise is about the characters opening up a bookshop/cafe. It was one of the better ones by Green, too bad I can't remember more.

This book was really funny but also had the right amount of relationship angst to make it more than just fluff. After being dumpted, the main character develops this whole theory of dating based on the relationships of cows. Bulls are always trying to get the new cow, once they've gotten her they quickly begin to search for the next new cow. Zigman's stuff is great-different than the typical chick lit.

I read this back in high school and totally loved it but for a whole year thought the book ended one way vs. the way it really ended. I misread one line near the end and walked around for a year thinking the wrong person comitted the murder. My dad finally set me straight-it was pretty funny. I've never read anything else by Turow but I did like this one.

I couldn't put this book down (in the early 90s) but since then have grown tired of Grisham and his books and movies. The first few were great though.

The book and movie were very different but I really enjoyed both. I remember being horrified when the movie came out because they made it look so ridiculous and nothing like the book. Once I saw the movie I liked it but more as it's own thing, if I had read it closer to reading the book I think it really would have bothered me.

I love the Walsh family and all their wacky ways. Anybody Out There struck me as kind of odd-she changed Anna's character sooo much from the earlier books-I couldn't figure it out.