Book Wrap Up for 2008!

I thought I would do a quick and dirty little review list of the books I've read in the last few months. I am also going to start adding in Amazon links so you can see what REAL reviewers have to say..since mine seem to be more of a stream of thought. You can also look up more on what the books are about that way also.
Need to do this more often too I realize.... so here goes it...there are quite a few!

QUIET PLEASE! Dispatches from a Public Librarian by Scott Douglas
I enjoy memoirs for the voyeuristic stalker in me that likes to A) fascinate about what it would be like to live other lives and to B) learn more about how others think, gauge situations and generally live their life.
So with that being said I would say this book was interesting in that it gave me a perspective on what being a librarian is like as a career. How unfortunately libraries are becoming less and less used although they do serve such an important part to the members of any community that do use the library. This book was decently written and had some funny moments but I would say overall it was just so-so.


ALL WE EVER WANTED WAS EVERYTHING - Janelle Brown
This book came out last summer and got pretty good reviews. I like this book. It is a novel about a family that had everything and then falls apart. It's told from different family members perspective and overall it was a pretty quick and engaging read. Some good dynamics shared here about mother/daughter/spouse relationships....good read.


NEVER LET ME GO - KAZUO ISHIGURO
Picked this book up just kind of on a whim...and struggled getting into it. This book is basically about a special group of kids and this camp/school that they attend, and a mysterious "plan" that they have set out for them. Stacy, my boss saw that I was reading it when we were sitting the airport last month and said she had read it. I told her I was having a tough time with it and she told me to stick with it because she had liked it. I am glad I did. At first I felt like...where is this book going....but then I realized it was just because it was so different, and then the plot dropped and I was like...DANG. This books was also a good read, once I gave it a longer chance. Some controversial topics coming out of it. Would be a good book club pick


THEN WE CAME TO THE END - JOSHUA FERRIS
This book I had the pleasure of having chosen for my by my sister's friend Lindsey! Besides Book Over Brooms, my sister also belongs to another book club with her friends. This was their pick for December...of which I was invited to attend as it is "Bring a Friend to Book Club" month. With Greta's diligent monitoring I finished the book just on time. I REALLY liked this book. Not everyone in book club did....but I laughed out loud...found the writing style to be different but great. One of the reviews says it best...the tone of the entire book is as if someone is gossiping to you over a cubicle wall. It has its real moments, outrageous moments and tender moments....If you have been in ANY type of work situation ever...I think you can find a character or moment to identify with.


THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO - JUNOT DIAZ
So this book. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. A story about an overweight, sweet ghetto nerd as the author puts it, aspires to be writer...starts the story off and it unfolds into an epic tale about his family through the generations and their journeys from the Dominican Republic to the US. Great reviews....and I can totally see where everyone is coming from. But I didn't finish it. I think the writing is amazing. I love the tone...the main character...it's different and compelling. But I couldn't finish it! There are a lot of footnotes?! That I understand is useful to give the history of the of different characters, time periods...the footnotes just break it up for me in a weird way. So! I don't know whether to recommend it or not. Check it out. Up to you ;) Let me know what you think if you do finish it.

TOPIC OF DEBATE
To finish or not finish a book.
I realize I am kind of crazy about this....it's tough. I FEEL BAD when I don't finish a book. Like in the case of Never Let Me Go...I ended up really liking the book and I was ALMOST going to give up on it! But on the other hand I am literally surrounded everyday by other books I am dying to read. So part of me feels like if a book isn't keeping me psyched then I should be on to the next. I am fully aware that this makes me a huge dork.