5 posts from January 2009
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I first read this book when I was around 11 or so - Mandie's age in the story. I loved the series then, and I still find it enjoyable now. I happened to spot the books on the shelf at the library and decided to read the series again.
The book begins with the death of Mandie's father and tells of how she deals with her grief in the face of the hardships set before her. By the end of the book, she has made new friends and found a new life for herself in her uncle's house.
As a child, I loved that the series was set in North Carolina (where I lived), and that Mandie had really long hair (which I wanted). It didn't take much back then - I read so fast that it took a lot of books to keep me satisfied. I'm sure my mother was thankful for the library and my all-but-unlimited access to free books!
Now, I appreciate that this is a series of books that is enjoyable to read as well as having a Christian message.
I'll be honest, I did not expect to like this book. I thought it would be very dry and I honestly expected it to be mostly an attack on Wal-Mart (which I'm personally getting sick of - employee or no, I'm tired of hearing all of the negativity about Wal-Mart, especially when most of the complaints I hear are things that are related to problems at the store level, not anything that the powers that be in Bentonville are doing or not doing).
Instead, it was an interesting description of how Wal-Mart came to be, and how it is able to do the things it does. The book also discussed the fact that everyone is affected by Wal-Mart, even those people who never shop there.
Eclipse is the third book in the Twilight series. It continues the story of Bella, Edward, and Jacob and how their lives intertwine despite conflicts among them. I liked it better than New Moon, but so far Twilight is still my favorite. I'm now waiting to read Breaking Dawn, the final book in the series.
What, if anything, is not okay to joke about?
Someone else's problems, especially those that are medical and/or that they have no control over. If you want to joke about your own issues, be my guest. But don't try to make light of mine.
I did it! I read 50 books during 2008. Here is my 2008 list:
1. Days of Infamy (Harry Turtledove)
2. The Magician's Nephew (C. S. Lewis)
3. Speak (Laurie Halse Anderson)
4. End of the Beginning (Harry Turtledove)
5. The Friday Night Knitting Club (Kate Jacobs)
6. Short & Tall Tales: Moose County Legends (Lilian Jackson Braun)
7. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
8. Mount Vernon Love Story (Mary Higgins Clark)
9. Blood Orange (Drusilla Campbell)
10. Mercy (Jodi Picoult)
11. Happiness Sold Separately (Lolly Winston)
12. The Horse and His Boy (C. S. Lewis)
13. The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood)
14. Good In Bed (Jennifer Weiner)
15. Prince Caspian (C. S. Lewis)
16. Before Green Gables (Budge Wilson)
17. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
18. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming (Joshilyn Jackson)
19. The Memory Keeper's Daughter (Kim Edwards)
20. The Time Traveler's Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
21. Voyage of the Dawn Treader (C. S. Lewis)
22. The Diary of Mattie Spenser (Sandra Dallas)
23. Bad Girls of the Bible (and what we can learn from them) (Liz Curtis Higgs)
24. Chronicles of Chrestomanci, volume 1 (Diane Wynne Jones)
25. Rhett Butler's People (Donald McCaig)
26. Emily of New Moon (L.M. Montgomery)
27. Emily Climbs (L.M. Montgomery)
28. Emily's Quest (L.M. Montgomery)
29. Chronicles of Chrestomani, volume 2 (Diane Wynne Jones)
30. Howl's Moving Castle (Diane Wynne Jones)
31. Stone Heart: A Novel of Sacajawea (Diane Glancy)
32. The Morgue The Merrier (Rosemary Laurey, Karen Kelley, & Dianne Castell)
33. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
34. Confessions of a Prep School Mommy Handler (Wade Rouse)
35. Those Who Save Us (Jenna Blum)
36. Anne of Avonlea (L.M. Montgomery)
37. Pushing the Bear: a Novel of the Trail of Tears (Diane Glancy)
38. In Her Shoes (Jennifer Weiner)
39. Anne of the Island (L.M. Montgomery)
40. Blood Ties (Pamela Freeman)
41. A Lion Among Men (Gregory Maguire)
42. The Art of Keeping Secrets (Patty Callahan Henry)
43. Twilight (Stephenie Meyer)
44. The Heretic's Daughter (Kathleen Kent)
45. New Moon (Stephenie Meyer)
46. The Shack (Wm. Paul Young)
47. Anne of Windy Poplars (L.M. Montgomery)
48. Nineteen Minutes (Jodi Picoult)
49. The Tsarina's Daughter (Carolly Erickson)
50. The Teahouse Fire (Ellis Avery)
I have set myself a goal of 75 for 2009.
