Dearest Indigo Bridgers,
In 2008 I was given a half dozen books for Christmas. After dealing with inventory, post-holiday craziness, and New Year's, I settled in to read some books. A few friends had done reading goals the year before and I decided, January 1st, 2009, to set a goal for myself. My goal was to read 100 books. It seemed like maybe it would be a stretch. I read fast but I don't always have a lot of time to dedicate to reading. I thought this would help me remember that prioritizing something you LOVE is a-okay.
Well, the totals are in for your viewing pleasure. Since there are a lot of books, I've broken them up into bite-sized pieces and honed them down to the one, most important sentence...or two. Bolded selections are highly recommended by me.
Note: A lot of these books are available here at Indigo Bridge Books if you're interested. Anything we don't have in stock, we'll order for you!
1. The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman. (Young adult and fantasy) (A+) This part ghost
story, part coming of age tale wowed me beyond belief. (This later won the Newbery Medal.)
2. Milkweed, by Jerry Spinelli. (Young adult and historical fiction) (B) This made me cry my eyes out - mean, it was about the Holocaust, so, yeah.
3. The Pagan Stone, by Nora Roberts. (Romance and fantasy) (B) I would recommend the series to any romance readers who also like fantasy and demons/magic/etc.
4. Nobody's Baby But Mine, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. (Romance) (C) This was cute, pretty darned far-fetched, but I liked the characters.
5. I Was Told There'd Be Cake, by Sloane Crosley. (Humor and biography) (B+) Not quite as top notch as my main man, Sedaris, but some of the stuff she talks about felt like she was writing down a conversation I'd had.
6. Under the Persimmon Tree, by Suzanne Fisher. (Young Adult and historical fiction) (B+) This was about the Middle East (Pakistan/Afghanistan) with a bittersweet ending that rang truer than a forced happy!happy ending would have.
7. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. (Young adult and science fiction) (A+) Think Battle Royale (the Japanese movie) with a touch of Fantasy and a helping of SciFi.
8. Glitter Baby, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. (Romance) (C+) I had doubts, and really, if your romance novel reader is actively having doubts about something she already has to suspend her disbelief to read?
9. The Negotiator, by Dee Henderson. (Religious fiction) (B) I like the family introduced in the stories - a bunch of kids who make their own definition of family are now grown up and taking a stand.
10. World War Z, by Max Brooks. (Science fiction) (A) It was dead on (hee) exactly how I imagine a zombie apocalypse going down.
Note: At the time I read this, I commented that I needed to get his first book, The Zombie Survival Guide. (I now have it.)
11. The Secret World of Sparrow Delaney, by Suzanne Harper. (Young adult) (B+) Sparrow can see, talk to, hear and smell ghosts (the four markers of a good medium) but she's the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter and her family thinks it's fated that she'll be great. That's a lot to live up to.
12. Alamo House, by Sarah Bird. (Fiction) (B) A bit antiquated, and yet I couldn't help but love the main characters, who were women coming into their own and OWNING it.
13. Sister Salty, Sister Sweet, by Shannon Kring Biro and Natalie Kring. (Humor and biography) (C) Supposedly on par with David Sedaris but it only started off strong in the funny department and then tapered out into just memoir.
14. Mending Fences, by Sherryl Woods. (B) THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE NOVEL. If someone tells you that it is they are a lying liar who lies. This is a telenovella. Well-written but in no
way romantic. Dark, tragic, and gritty.
15. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card. (Science fiction) (B+) Sci-fi space game where children play 'games' that have real results that ends half horrifyingly and half inevitably.
Aja! If you like Battle Royale the movie, you should totally read the book. It's by Koushun Takami. The manga adaptation is pretty sweet, too...