.:.Book Bodega.:. discussion

Post mini reviews of the books you read during the month of December 2014.

Okay, folks! I'm finally on vacation and have been a BIG old slug! I just read a book from my friend: God, No!: Signs You May Already Be an Atheist and Other Magical Tales Penn Jillette is rude and crude and rambling, but I love watching Penn and Teller's Bullsh*t (former Showtime show), so I decided to read it. It's NOT everyone's cup of tea, but it was an enjoyable glance into his head/views.

I also just finished The Tommyknockers. I wasn't going to go for Stephen King, but it turned out to be the only book I had on my Kindle while I was flying to Buffalo, so I started it. As it is with a lot of Stephen King's books, I found it a bit too rambly and long. And I'm finding that a lot of his stuff is 800 pages of buildup only to find out that "it's all caused by some random alien."

Anyway, I'm going to start reading Marina because I liked a few other things Carlos Ruiz Zafon has written. Honestly, I loved The Shadow of the Wind, and the rest of his things (particularly his YA earlier stuff) didn't really match up with the quality of that. But I'm about to start it. We shall see!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!!! xo

Okay, 3/4 through Marina - and, while it's engaging, it's typical Zafon -- lone young man falls in love with mysterious young woman and finds himself pulled into a web of mystery and implausible situations. The female characters in this book are underdeveloped and he uses one of his favorite tricks - having the protagonist stumble upon various people who provide long stories of exposition. I love some elements of Zafon's style, but I'd say: read The Shadow of the Wind and then resist the temptation to read anything else by him. Oh, I'm going to finish reading this - probably tonight - but it's a little disappointing. :-)

I read Yes Please, Butterfly Harvest and But I said Forever. In the dwindling days of 2014 I plan on reading Christmas Fluff and liking it! Gotta go cause the hubby wants to go for a walk. will give more detail a bit later.

All's right with the world when Kai is reading her Christmas fluff! :-) xo

I just finished The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante. It was a gift from a friend this year. It was a painful read, but very well done (and it's translated from Italian). It does a great job of articulating the pain and fragmentation of a woman in the aftermath of her husband leaving her. Not the "feel good" book of the season, but well done.

So far this month I've read:
Yes Please. Really wish I enjoyed it more.
Sisters, such a cute read.
and Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?, really enjoyed this one!

Currently reading An Abundance of Katherines. I'm reading through all of John Green's books. Finding it a little hard to get lost in the story but I'm sticking with it.

I'm now reading The Pretty One: A Novel about Sisters by Lucinda Rosenfeld. Another gift from the same friend I mentioned above (she has really provided me with reading material!) - enjoying it a lot so far. OMG I have been LOVING how much reading I've been able to do!!

The Pretty One turned out to be disappointing. Poorly developed characters and a contrived ending. Meh. Now...what's on for January?