Do you have a book you read in school that you swore was the worst book ever? Have you ever thought that maybe your teachers weren't out to torture you, and there may have been a method to their madness after all? Then the July Challenge is for you!

Details on the challenge can be found here...check it out, and join us!

Book 56: Fearless Fourteen
Author: Janet Evanovich
Genre: Chicklit, Crime Fiction, Humor
Summary: New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum finds herself saddled with the teenage son of Loretta Rizzi, her latest skip, at the start of that latest entry in Evanovich's bestselling series. When Mario "Zook" Rizzi and his obsession with the online role-playing game "Minionfire" become too much for Stephanie to handle, the pair camp out at Trenton cop Joe Morelli's house. Stephanie also takes a job with the mysterious Ranger, helping him "babysit" Brenda, a fading music star in town for a concert. After Loretta is kidnapped, Stephanie and Morelli discover that to ensure Loretta's safety, they'll have to find the $9 million that disappeared after a bank robbery committed by Loretta's recently paroled brother, Dom. A mild-mannered stalker and the upcoming nuptials of Stephanie's colleague Lula to Ranger's right-hand man, Tank, add to the crazy fun.
My Rating: 9/10
( My thoughts: )

Book 57: Oryx and Crake
Author: Margaret Atwood
Genre: Fiction, Sci-fi
Summary: As the story opens, the narrator, who calls himself Snowman, is sleeping in a tree, wearing a dirty old bedsheet, mourning the loss of his beautiful and beloved Oryx and his best friend Crake, and slowly starving to death. In a world in which science-based corporations have recently taken mankind on an uncontrolled genetic-engineering ride, he now searches for supplies in a wasteland. Insects proliferate and pigoons and wolvogs ravage the Pleeblands, where ordinary people once lived, and the Compounds that sheltered the extraordinary. As he tries to piece together what has taken place, the narrative shifts to decades earlier. How did everything fall apart so quickly? Why is Snowman left with nothing but his bizarre memories -- alone except for the more-than-perfect, green-eyed Children of Crake, who think of him as a kind of monster? He explores the answers to these questions on the double journey he takes -- into his own past and back to Crake's high-tech bubble dome, where the Paradice Project unfolded and the world came to grief.
My Rating: 9/10
( My thoughts: )

Book 58: Full Frontal Feminism
Author: Jessica Valenti
Genre: Feminist, Non-fiction
Summary: Feminism isn't dead. It just isn't very cool anymore. Enter Full Frontal Feminism, a book that embodies the forward-looking messages that author Jessica Valenti propagates on her popular website, Feministing.com. Covering a range of topics, including pop culture, health, reproductive rights, violence, education, relationships, and more, Valenti provides young women a primer on why feminism matters.
My Rating: 8/10
( My thoughts: )

Book 59: Daisy Miller
Author: Henry James
Genre: Classic, Fiction
Summary: The young Daisy Miller an American on holiday, with her mother on the shores of Switzerland's Lac Leman, is one of James's most vivid and tragic characters. Daisy's friendship with an American gentleman, Mr. Winterbourne, and her subsequent infatuation with a passionate but impoverished Italian bring to life the great Jamesian themes of Americans abroad, innocence versus experience, and the grip of fate.
My Rating: 7/10
( My thoughts: )

Book 60: Eden Close
Author: Anita Shreve
Genre: Fiction, Romance
Summary: Andrew, in his mid-thirties, returns to his hometown to attend his mother's funeral. Planning to remain only a few days, he is drawn into the tragic legacy of the beautiful girl next door, Eden Close. An adopted child, Eden has learned to avoid the mother who did not want her and to please the father who did. She also aimed to please Andrew and his friends, first by being one of the boys and later by seducing them. Then one hot night Andrew was awakened by gunshots and piercing screams from the next farm: Mr. Close had been killed and Eden, blinded. Now, seventeen years later, Andrew begins to uncover the grisly story -- to unravel the layers of thwarted love between the husband, wife, and tormented girl. And as the truth about Eden's past comes to light, so too does Andrew's strange and binding attachment to her reveal itself.
My Rating: 7/10
( My thoughts: )

60 / 74 books. 81% done!

Book 38: Audrey Hepburn
Author: Barry Paris
Genre: Biography, Non-fiction
( Summary )
My Rating: 8/10
( My thoughts: )

Book 39: Hallucinating Foucault
Author: Patricia Duncker
Genre: 1001 Books to Read Before You Die, Fiction
( Summary )
My Rating: 8/10
( My thoughts: )

Book 40: Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited
Author: Vladimir Nabokov
Genre: Autobiography, Non-fiction
( Summary )
My Rating: 9/10
( My thoughts: )

Book 41: Ella Minnow Pea
Author: Mark Dunn
Genre: Fiction
( Summary )
My Rating: 9/10
( My thoughts: )

Book 42: The Cubicle Next Door
Author: Siri L. Mitchell
Genre: Chick Lit, Romance
( Summary )
My Rating: 6/10
( My thoughts: )

Book 43: The Sea
Author: John Banville
Genre: 1001 Books to Read Before You Die, Fiction
( Summary )
My Rating: 8/10
( My thoughts: )

Book 44: Amsterdam
Author: Ian McEwan
Genre: 1001 Books to Read Before You Die, Fiction, British
( Summary )
My Rating: 7/10
( My thoughts: )

Book 45: Lock and Key
Author: Sarah Dessen
Genre: Fiction, Romance, Young Adult
( Summary )
My Rating: 7/10
( My thoughts: )

Book 46: Pnin
Author: Vladimir Nabokov
Genre: 1001 Books to Read Before You Die, Classic, Fiction
( Summary )
My Rating: 7/10
( My thoughts: )

Book 47: The Last Time They Met
Author: Anita Shreve
Genre: Fiction, Romance
( Summary )
My Rating: 6/10
( My thoughts: )

Book 48: Breakfast at Tiffany's
Author: Truman Capote
Genre: 1001 Books to Read Before You Die, Fiction, Modern Classic
( Summary )
My Rating: 8/10
( My thoughts: )

Book 49: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Author: Mark Haddon
Genre: 1001 Books to Read Before You Die, Autism, Fiction
( Summary )
My Rating: 8/10
( My thoughts: )

Book 50: Hunting and Gathering
Author: Anna Gavalda
Genre: Fiction, European
( Summary )
My Rating: 10/10
( My thoughts: )

50 / 74 books. 68% done!

I've finished up my 52 books for the year! I'm done reading for the year! loljk

Here are the last reviews I have to post...

33. The Golden Compass (also known as Northern Lights)
by Philip Pullman
351 pages

Rating: A
Recommend: Yes
Book Number: 33 / 52

Summary from back of book:

Lyra Belacqua is content to run wild among the scholars in Jordan College, her daemon familiar always by her side. By the moment she hears hushed talk of Dust, an extraordinary particle, she's drawn to the heart of a terrible struggle -- a struggle born of Gobblers and stolen children, witch clans and armored bears. And as she hurtles toward danger in the cold, far North, young Lyra never suspects the shocking truth: her destiny must be fulfilled not in this world, but far beyond.



35. Eat This, Not That
by David Zinczenko
304 pages

Rating: A-
Recommend: for dieters, yes
Book Number: 35 / 52

Summary from back of the book:

Eat what you want, when you want -- and watch the pounds disappear!

You can burn fat and build the body you want -- not by eating less, but my making smart, healthy food choices. And now, the right choices are simple!

Whether you're in the frozen food aisle, the fast-food drive-thru, the local Olive Garden, or even your own kitchen, you're faced with dozens of food choices every single day. Which ones will help you look and feel fit and trim -- and which are loaded with hidden calories, fats, and other nasty stuff? You'll never know - unless you have EAT THIS, NOT THAT!




43, 50-52 Death Note 1-4
Tsugumi Ohba, art by Takeshi Obata

Rating: A
Recommend: yes
Book Number(s): 43 / 52, 50 / 52, 51 / 52, 52 / 52

Summary from back of books:

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects -- and he's bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal...or his life?



My Reading List

Une femme
By Annie Ernaux
Pages: 105
Genre: Memoir
Translation: A Woman's Story

Jacket description/back: "A stunning, emotional testament...that may move some readers to think of their own mothers, even in a way they hadn't before."

Annie Ernaux's mother has just died. She is the only child, so it is up to her to make the final arrangements. And it is up to her to remember the proud, vibrant, intense, and difficult woman who once was her mother before age and illness vanquished her. A poignant recollection of a mother's life in France before and after the war, this woman's story can only be known in part. Yet, in this case, that is enough.

An acclaimed bestseller in France, A WOMAN'S STORY is every women's story—a quiet jewel of a memoir, breathtaking and brilliant.

This was the first book that I read by Annie Ernaux, and it led to my purchasing every book that she has written (and that's quite a few). The story of her mother's battle with Alzheimer's, or more specifically, of the memories and feelings that her mother's death cause to surface in the subsequent months. A moving, emotional work that does exactly what the cover suggests - make you think about your own relationship with your mother and the eventual loss that we will all feel. Not a feel-good book, but a book you can feel good about.

Le Gone du Chaâba
By Azouz Begag
Pages: 243
Genre: Autobiographical Novel
Translation: Shantytown Kid

Jacket description/back: One day an illiterate Algerian immigrant in Lyon gave his son, Azouz Begag, a book, saying, “This book is a bird.” How Begag took flight on the wings of learning is one of the stories that unfolds in this captivating autobiographical novel of growing up amid the multicultural complexities of contemporary France. Determined to leave behind the poverty of his shantytown life, Begag works to become a star pupil at the local primary school—earning the jealousy and rejection of his Arab playmates even as he contends with the anti-Arab racism of his French peers. Begag’s moving and often comical account of negotiating a path between the competing cultural spaces encountered during his childhood is a compelling tale of coming of age in a world of ethnic and racial tensions. A story for all ages, it is also very much of the moment, offering unique insights into the reweaving of the social fabric of France in response to growing ethnic diversity.

This book is a reread for me, but a personal favorite. The story of Azouz's life in the shantytown known as Chaâba is a coming-of-age story. Through the French educational system, Azouz finds a way to blend his Algerian (Beur) heritage with the French way of life, integrating the two aspects of himself to find a path to success. Here, his years in elementary school are recounted without holding back on experiences that were humiliating at the time, but that served as good learning experiences. Both laughs and tears await the sensible reader in this novel, and I recommend it to everyone.

I've fallen behind on my reviews, so I figure I'll just work a few in every now and then. I'm nearly done with my 52!

34. All-American Girl
by Meg Cabot
298 pages

Rating: A
Recommend: Yes
Book Number: 34 / 52

Summary from back of book:

Top Ten Reasons Samantha Madison Is in Deep Trouble

10. Her big sister is the most popular girl in school

9. Her little sister is a certified genius

8. She's in love with her big sister's boyfriend

7. She got caught selling celebrity portraits in school

6. And now she's being forced to take art classes

5. She's just saved the president of the United States from an assassination attempt

4. So the whole world thinks she's a hero

3. Even though Sam knows she is far, far from being a hero

2. And now she's been appointed teen ambassador to the UN

And the number-one reason Sam's life is over?

1. The president's son just might be in love with her.

This was a reread. It's a good pick-me-up. I fell in love with Princess DIaries, and this is good, too, for just the same reasons. Fluffy and girly and cute.

LINKS

All-American Girl @ amazon.com
All-American Girl @ megcabot.com

36. Ready or Not
by Meg Cabot
310 pages

Rating: A
Recommend: Yes
Book Number: 36 / 52

Summary from back of book:

Top ten things Samantha Madison isn't ready for:

10. Spending Thanksgiving at Camp David

9. With her boyfriend, the president's son

8. Who wants to take things to the Next Level

7. Which Sam inadvertently announces live on MTV

6. While discussing the president's dubious policies on families, morals, and, yes, sex

5. Juggling her new after-school job at Potomac Video

4. Even though she's already the (unpaid) teen ambassador to the UN

3. Getting accosted because she's "the redheaded girl who saved the president's life," despite her new ebony tresses

2. Dealing with her popular sister Lucy, who for once can't get the guy she wants

and the number one thing Sam isn't ready for?

1. Finding out the hard way that in art class, "life drawing" means "naked people"

Sequel to All-American Girl. A little more...adult for a Meg Cabot novel, at least out of the ones I've read. Most of the book is about sex, whether or not to have it, and practicing for it...if you get my meaning. Still a good read --

LINKS

Ready or Not @ amazon.com
Ready or Not @ megcabot.com

42. Cindy Ella
by Robin Palmer
264 pages

Rating: A
Recommend: Yes
Book Number: 42 / 52
Summary from back of book:

Prom.

The best dress. The best shoes. The best date. Cindy Ella Gold is sick of it all.

Prom fever has infected LA -- especially Cindy's annoying stepsisters and her overly Botoxed stepmother. Cindy seems to be the only one immune to it all. But her anti-prom letter in the school newspaper does more than turn Cindy into Queen of the Freaks than to close the gap between the popular kids and the rest of the students. Everyone thinks she's committed social suicide, except for her two best friends -- the yoga goddess India and John Hughes-worshiping Malcolm -- and shockingly, the most popular senior at Castle Heights High and Cindy's crush, Adam Silver. But with a little bit of help from and unexpected source -- and the perfect pair of shoes -- Cindy realizes that she still has a chance at a happily ever after.

This is one of those books that the description is a little different from the story, and so it gives things away. Nevertheless, it isn't anything you wouldn't see coming, anyway. This was cute. Pure fluff. I picked it up on a whim at Wal-Mart and really enjoyed it. It was a bit predictable, but that's okay. There were several passages of IMing worked into the book, which wasn't as annoying as it can sometimes be. There were a few times when I was reading it and thought it was a bit extreme...but none of those parts come to mind right now, lol. It is a mirror of the Cinderella story, but the main character states straight off that she hates that story. Her step-family isn't really mean, she doesn't get stuck with too many chores (other than taking care of her younger brother, that is). I recommend this for anyone who's a Meg Cabot fan - like me.

LINKS

Cindy Ella @ amazon.com
Cindy Ella @ robinpalmeronline.com
My Reading List

Absolute Boyfriend
by Yuu Watase
volumes 1 through 6

Rating: A
Recommend: Yes
Book Number(s): 44 / 52, 45 / 52, 46 / 52, 47 / 52, 48 / 52, 49 / 52

Summary from the book's page at shojobeat.com:

Rejected way too many times by good-looking (and unattainable) guys, shy Riiko Izawa goes online and signs up for a free trial of a mysterious Nightly Lover "figure." The very next day a cute naked guy is delivered to her door, and he wants to be her boyfriend!

Has Riiko died and gone to heaven? The cute guy turns out to be sweet, smart, a great cook, and lots more. And he looks like a million bucks, which is what he's going to cost Riiko if she doesn't return him in time...

I liked this series a lot. I'm not all that happy with the ending, but it is sort of ambiguous, so at least my imagination can fix things, lol. Soshi, Riiko's neighbor, is in love with her, too, and that creates a dramatic love triangle that really drives the story. He's the imperfect to Night's perfect - after all, Riiko picked exactly how she wanted Night to be! I liked Soshi better, but...I'll leave it for you to read. Who do you think Riiko picks - the "figure," or a real boy?

LINKS
Absolute Boyfriend 1 @ amazon.com
My Reading List

Into the Wild
by Jon Krakauer
203 pages

Rating: B
Recommned: Yes
Book Number: 41 / 52

Summary from back front of book:

In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself...

I've wanted to read this one for a long time. I enjoyed it a lot, until a few chapters from the end when the author starts talking about his own adventures. I was like, "Don't care. Back to Chris, please." He does go back to Chris, and then talks about going to the cite of Chris's death, and then about taking Chris's parents there. That was all right...I just didn't understand why he had to throw in his own adventures...FYI, this books was made into a film directed by Sean Penn. I haven't seen it yet, but I will.

Links:
Into the Wild @ amazon.com
Into the Wild @ imdb.com
My Reading List

Sex and the City
by Candace Bushnell
304 pages

Rating: B
Recommend: Yes
Book Number: 39 / 52

I'm not going to bother with a summary, because even if you don't like the show, you know what the book is about. The show is based off of the book. I love the show, and I FINALLY got around to reading the book because the movie is about to come out. It's a bunch of Bushnell's articles put together. It was enjoyable, but lagged at the end (which, coincidentally, are two chapters that were apparently recently added on).

***

The Girls
by Lori Lansens
352 pages

Rating: A
Recommend: Yes
Book Number: 40 / 52

Summary from book jacket:

Meet Rose and Ruby: sisters, best friends, confidantes, and conjoined twins. Since their birth, Rose and Ruby Darlen have been known simply as "the girls." They make friends, fall in love, have jobs, love their parents, and follow their dreams. But the Darlens are special. Now nearing their 30th birthday, they are history's oldest craniopagus twins, joined at the head by a spot the size of a bread plate.

When Rose, the bookish sister, sets out to write her autobiography, it inevitably becomes the story of her short but extraordinary life with Ruby, the beautiful one. From their awkward first steps--Ruby's arm curled around Rose's neck, her foreshortened legs wrapped around Rose's hips--to the friendships they gradually build for themselves in the small town of Leaford, this is the profoundly affecting chronicle of an incomparable life journey.

As Rose and Ruby's story builds to an unforgettable conclusion, Lansens aims at the heart of human experience--the hardship of loss and struggles for independence, and the fundamental joy of simply living a life. This is a breathtaking novel, one that no reader will soon forget, a heartrending story of love between sisters.

I bought this book, finally, when the hardcover edition was $5.99 at my local Borders. I enjoyed it, and found the extraordinary circumstances of the sisters' fictional lives perfectly believable, even the part about the...well, you'll have to read it.

***

Links:

Sex and the City @ amazon.com
Sex and the City @ candacebusnell.com
The Girls @ amazon.com
My Reading List

I've decided to start where I'm at with book reviews, and then work in the one's I've fallen behind on in later.

The Subtle Knife
by Philip Pullman
308 pages

__

The Road to Civil War
Marvel Comics
160 pages

Dear Prince Charming
by Donna Kauffman
480 pages

Book: Sugarcane Academy: How a New Orleans Teacher and His Storm-Struck Students Created a School to Remember by Michael Tisserand
Pages: 192
Entertainment Rating: 4.5/5
Snooty Rating: 5/5
Total Rating: 9.5/10
Books Read Total: 20/50
Pages Read Total: 3875/15,000

This book may be small, but it packs a punch. Riding on the wave of emotions from my recent trip down to NOLA this book could not have come at a time when I was more vulnerable. Frequently I found myself in tears over the hugeness of it all. The hugeness of the hurricane and the aftershocks, the hugeness of the indignities forced upon so many citizens, and the immeasurable outpouring of awareness on the part of those capable of giving something to the people who had nothing. In a society where education is so bound by rules and regulations, this small section of a community banded together to give families what they needed. This is education as it should be: active, responsive, aware. What these children needed was not a standardized test or even a normal classroom. They needed time and space to express their experiences, to learn about their relations to the world around them, and to make sense of all that they experienced in such a short time. Much was lost during Hurricane Katrina, but the disaster laid bare the strength, courage, determination and love that human beings are capable of giving.

And it's a biggun.

1. Falcondance Amelia Atwater Rhodes; I will admit, the only reason why I read this, and the next, was because I had started reading the series and I wanted to finish it. Total let down. **6/10**

2. Wolfcry Amelia Atwater Rhodes; Again, to finish this series I started reading when I was 15/16. An even bigger let down, though I was amused by the twist at the end. **5/10**

3. Dracula: Prince of Many Faces; His life & times Radu R Florsecu, Raymond McNally; This was an absolutely fabulous book. I loved it. Very informative. Definately recommend this if you are interested in Vlad the Impaler, and/or Balkan history. **10/10**

Now for the manga:

4,5. Bizenghast vol 3-4, M. Alice; Wonderful additions to the series. Not happy with the ending of 4 though. :'( **5/5**

6. The Wallflower vol 14 Tomoko Hayakawa; I enjoyed this very much. **5/5**

7, 8. Vampire Knights vol 3-4 Misturo Hino. Lets just say I am ridiculously excited for v.5 :P **5/5**

9-21. Fruits Basket vol 2-15 Natsuki Takaya. I am in love with this series <3 **5/5**

That is all for me for now.

21 / 50 (42.0%)

Classes end tomorrow, so I will be able to spend more time reading and less time doing homework. yay! I have a list of books to read but I don't feel like typing it :P

I'm out.
--

That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything in Between
by Victoria Beckham
384 pages

Rating: A
Recommend: Yes
Book Number: 31 / 52

Summary (from back of book):

That Extra Half Inch is a revealing and practical book on fashion, beauty, and style. Victoria Beckham shares her secrets on dressing for special occasions, everyday wear, accessorizing, holidays and making the most of your wardrobe. Whether you're getting ready for work, a night out on the town or even dropping the kids off at school, this is Victoria's personal guide to feeling confidant and looking great every time you step out of the front door.

A phenomenal bestseller in the UK, now available for the first time in the US, this handbag edition with exclusive new photography is updated with extra tips for where to find your must-have purchases.

I really enjoyed this book. I'm not that into fashion truthfully, but Posh was (and still is, truthfully, lol) my favorite Spice Girl. The book felt so real, like she was talking to you. "Hello, I am Victoria Beckham. We are now best friends. Let me tell you all about shopping." There were parts I skipped (like maternity wear, which I don't have to worry about yet, and ski wear, because I don't ski). There were some parts I didn't really get, mostly because it pertained to British things, I think - like what high street is; exactly what a vest is as described by Beckham (kind of like a tanktop, I think?); and what OBE stands for. Recommended for Spice Girl, fashion, or Beckham lovers.

Links
That Extra Half an Inch @ amazon.com
My Reading List

Book: #1
Title: Outlander
Author: Diana Gabaldon
Rating: 5/5
Pages: 896
Genre: Historical Fantasy

    I just finished re-reading OUTLANDER a few days ago and it's the first in a series of historical fantasy novels by Diana Gabaldon. I enjoyed it much more thoroughly the second read. The first time, in December, I first read it immediately after finishing "The Other Boleyn Girl" -- Philippa Gregory and I was annoyed that OUTLANDER was going to be another version of Gregory  with silly gratuitous "adult situations".   Romance novels are not my particularly favorite genre though I have read some standouts, especially in historical fiction. But, after being assured by a friend who recommended the book that it was an excellent read, eventually, I came to see how well written OUTLANDER was and I was hooked.
    It's one of those series of books I hate to read because it has to come to end eventually and we're left waiting for the next story or the writer ends the series. Either way, we're left wanting more.
    The characters in OUTLANDER are really well developed and relationships between characters are complex. The 18th century comes to life in her hands and seems very well researched. It has become one of my all time favorite series of books.

Book: #2
Title: The Forest Wife
Author: Theresa Tomlinson
Rating: 4/5
Pages: 170
Genre: Juvenile Fiction; Historical Fiction


    It's another take on the Robin Hood/Maid Marian tale from the 12th century except this tale focuses on Maid Marian and Robin or Robert is only a secondary character. It's a young adult read from probably 9-12 years. It's strong points are that Marian is a very strong and independent girl. Many of the women characters in this story are very strong and independent and the men definitely play a more secondary role, not because they're not important, but because the story isn't about them.
    The Forest Wife is a healer deep in the woods that people come to for healing or aid. She is well respected within the community as a sort of matriarch or "mother" figure. The story centers around the Forest Wife and a growing motley group of outcasts that find their way to her for one reason or another. I was surprised to find I really enjoyed this book. The characters seemed real to me and the relationships were reasonably complex. The Robin Hood/Maid Marian theme remains relevant throughout and other familiar characters such as Gisbourne, King John, King Richard, the Sheriff and the Crusades are in subdued counterpoint to the main story. It's an old story with a refreshing twist and a great book for girls if you're looking for an alternative to the damsel in distress.


   

My half-way mark went by without even me noticing! lol

The Boyfriend List
by E. Lockhart
256 pages

Rating: B
Recommend: Yes
Book Number: 29 / 52

Summary:

Ruby Oliver is 15 and has a shrink. She knows it’s unusual, but give her a break—she’s had a rough 10 days. In the past 10 days she:
- lost her boyfriend (#13 on the list),
- lost her best friend (Kim),
- lost all her other friends (Nora, Cricket),
- did something suspicious with a boy (#10),
- did something advanced with a boy (#15),
- had an argument with a boy (#14),
- drank her first beer (someone handed it to her),
- got caught by her mom (ag!),
- had a panic attack (scary),
- lost a lacrosse game (she’s the goalie),
- failed a math test (she’ll make it up),
- hurt Meghan’s feelings (even though they aren’t really friends),
- became a social outcast (no one to sit with at lunch)
- and had graffiti written about her in the girls’ bathroom (who knows what was in the boys’!?!).
But don’t worry—Ruby lives to tell the tale. And make more lists.

I liked this book. It was fun and easy to read. A coworker of mine left it at work, and I was bored one day and picked it up (even though I had my own book with me! lol). It's one of those books that I read and just forgot about the rest of my real world for a while; a welcome adventure.

***

The Perfect Wife
by Victoria Alexander
384 pages

Rating: B
Recommend: Yes
Book Number: 30 / 52

Summary:
When the Earl of Wyldewood meets Sabrina Winfield, he thinks he's found the ideal match. Graceful and genteel, the elegant blonde will look simply exquisite displayed on his arm. And a lady like Sabrina will undoubtedly occupy her time with proper matters, leaving him free to pursue his own pleasures . . .

But beneath Sabrina's delicate beauty lies the most infuriatingly stubborn, wildly adventurous woman the earl has ever met. She's nothing like the perfect wife he had imagined. And before long, all he can think of is quieting her biting wit (with his kisses), putting an end to her outlandish schemes (with his own carefully planned seduction), and doing everything in his power to become the perfect husband.

I don't know about you, but I like my romance novels a little far-fetched, lol.

Sabrina, many years ago, was in the smuggling trade, after her first husband died and left her penniless. No one knows her secret. The Earl of Wyldewood once hunted her down for the authorities, and he got the best of her. Years later, his daughter and her son are about to be wed, and Sabrina discovers a treasure map, and she needs the money for her daughter's dowry. She flees to Egypt, and the Earl of Wyldewood is with her, to "keep her safe," even though he himself is known to be a bit of a rake. Along the way they get married, discover each other's past, and have to figure out if the life of a perfect wife is good for either of them.

Links:
The Boyfriend List @ amazon.com
E. Lockhart's official page
The Perfect Husband @ amazon.com
Victoria Alexander's official page
My Reading List

Title: Write. by Karen E. Peterson, Ph.D.
Genre: nonfiction
Length: 257 pgs.
Rating: 10

Summary: Peterson provides THE way to "overcome writer's block. Period." A psychologist and writing professor, Peterson knows her stuff, and combines her expertise in both areas to show writers how to break the spell that writer's block has over you. She explains her "bi-vocal" approach to writing, which consists of listening to both "voices" in your head: your left brain (analystical, logical) and your right brain (creative, inconsistent, energetic). It's a new way of understanding and controlling your creative outburts so that you can be more productive on any writing project, even if you can only write in 10-min. bursts.

What I thought: AMAZING! :D Since I'm in college, work, and write, I often find it difficult to a) find the time to work creatively/for my own plesure, and b) enjoy myself while writing instead of struggling through a writer's block. I've just begun using her amazing 10-day plan on breaking writer's block, and am loving it. She provides easy-to-use charts that you fill out before each writing session; one helps you find the right mood and time for writing, one helps you control the amount of time so you don't burn out too quickly, and one helps you evaluate your writing projects and break them down into smaller, more workeable chunks. It's honestly the best writing book I've ever read (seconded only by On Writing Well and The Complete Handbook on Novel Writing). The best book purchase I've ever made, no kidding. Every writer needs this book. Period. ;)

Currently Reading:

Knowing God by J.I. Packer
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
Friendship and Folly by Meredith Allady
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower by C.S. Forester
Hamlet by William Shakespeare

On the List:

The Other Side of Me: A Memoir by Sidney Sheldon
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Mammoth Book of Pirates by Jon E. Lewis (ed.) 
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Guards, Guards! by Terry Pratchett

9 / 50 booksies. 18% done!

Aquarian Age - Juvenile Orion 2
Aquarian Age - Juvenile Orion 3
Aquarian Age - Juvenile Orion 4
Aquarian Age - Juvenile Orion 5
by Sakurako Gokurakuin

In the remaining books of the series, Mana and her boys (who further prove my theory that manga boys can be just as hot as real ones) are put to the ultimate test. I found this series to be very good, if a bit rushed. The "Juvenile Orion" bit of the title is, as far as I can remember, never mentioned, so that confused me a bit. The romance at the end isn't the one I wanted, but that's okay, because it makes sense, too. Recommended.

Links
Volume 2 @ amazon.com
Volume 3 @ amazon.com
Volume 4 @ amazon.com
Volume 5 @ amazon.com
The Series @ Broccoli Books
My review of Volume 1
My Reading List

Book: A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
Pages: Audiobook
Entertainment Rating: N/A
Snooty Rating: 5/5
Total Rating: 10/10
Books Read Total: 18/50
Pages Read Total: 3188/15,000

This book will blow your mind. It will probably give you nightmares, and if you have any soul at all it will make you cry. It will make your stomach turn, your heart ache, and your palms sweat. There will be times when you absolutely must put the book down and walk away, but I promise you it is worth it. I cannot describe this book to you in any way that will do it justice, but I beg you to read it.

From the website:
A gripping story of a child’s journey through hell and back.

There may be as many as 300,000 child soldiers, hopped-up on drugs and wielding AK-47s, in more than fifty conflicts around the world. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them. He is one of the first to tell his story in his own words.

In A LONG WAY GONE, Beah, now twenty-six years old, tells a riveting story. At the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. Eventually released by the army and sent to a UNICEF rehabilitation center, he struggled to regain his humanity and to reenter the world of civilians, who viewed him with fear and suspicion. This is, at last, a story of redemption and hope.