The Lovely Bones

Title: The Lovely Bones

Author: Alice Sebold

Publisher: Back Bay

ISBN: 0-316-16881-5

Why Read?: Book Club

Challenges: Mystery & Suspense, Off the Shelf, International, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: I can see why so many like this book. It was very well-written and Sebold definitely has a modern classic on her hands. I, personally, was not interested in reading it until I saw the trailer for the movie. The idea of Susie trying, at first, to get others to see who her murder was intrigued me. However, some parts of the story were way too character driven for me, and while Sebold's writing is lovely, I would find myself losing interest. The story was good and I do recommend it, I just wish it read a little faster.

Rating: 4 stars

Happy Cafe Volume 4

Title: Happy Cafe Volume 4

Author: Kou Matsuzuki

Publisher: Tokyopop

ISBN: 978-1-4278-1733-4

Why Read?: For fun

Challenges: Manga, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: This volume just did not quite cut it for me like the other ones. At spots, the translation seemed to be off because some of the dialog simply did not make sense to me. What I did like was the 50-page bonus story, "Flower and Butterfly in Summer." This was a cute, touching tale of a girl and her "mom" who is definitely more than he seems.

Rating: 3 stars

Elsewhere Online: February 2011

As you may have guessed from my In My Mailbox posts, I review for another website (bookloons.com). As I cannot post my reviews there and here, but I would still like to count the books I read for the challenges, I am going to have a post like this at the end of the every month listing the books I reviewed and what challenges the went towards.

Title: Blue

Author: Lou Aronica

Challenges: Fantasy, 100 Books in a Year

In My Mailbox 2/20-2/26

For possible review (on bookloons.com):

Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Won:

The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan

You Know When the Men Are Gone by Siobhan Fallon

Daddy's by Lindsay Hunter

Swaps on Swap-Bot:

Mother Tongue by Demetria Martinez

Cat by V.C. Andrews

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Duma Key by Stephen King

Mort by Terry Pratchett

Swap on Paperbackswap:

Sisters of the Raven by Barbara Hambly

Bought at Borders:

Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz

This fun weekly meme comes from The Story Siren.

All images come from Goodreads.

Chinese Literature Challenge

I don't read much Asian literature (unless you want to count manga and manwha), but some of the best books I have read have been set in China, so I thought I would try the Chinese Literature Challenge. I am definitely going for the lowest level which is Merchant (1-3 books).

1. Huntress by Malinda Lo

2.

3.

Chunkster Reading Challenge

I do have a few larger tomes to read, and while many are YA, I think I will have enough adult ones through the course of the year to play in the Chunkster Reading Challenge. I will go with the lowest level which is The Chubby Chunkster (4 books).

1. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson

3.

4.

In My Mailbox 2/13-2/19

Didn't get much reading done at all this week since I had a show opening, but my mailbox sure was happy (and now I am almost drowning in books LOL).

For possible review (on Bookloons.com):

Gossip from the Girls' Room by Rose Cooper

The Storm Before Atlanta by Karen Schwabach

Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing by Kathy Cano-Murillo

How to Slay a Dragon by Bill Allen

The Branding by Micaela Wendel

The Lens and the Looker by Lory S. Kaufman

Won:

You by Charles Benoit

Planting Dandelions by Kyran Pittman

Sins of the House of Borgia by Sarah Bower

Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger

Swaps on Swap-Bot:

Circle of the Moon by Barbara Hambly

The Knight's Kiss by Nicole Burnham

The Guy Not Taken by Jennifer Weiner

This fun weekly meme comes from The Story Siren.

All images come from Goodreads.

Follower Love Winner

Random.org has spoken and a big congrats go out to...

MICHELLE!

An email has been sent. Winner has 48 hrs to respond before a new winner is chosen.

In My Mailbox 2/6-2/12

For review (on Bookloons):

Haunt Me Still by Jennifer Lee Carrell

Rogue Oracle by Alayna Williams

From swaps on Swap-Bot:

A Place of My Own by Michael Pollen

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

From Paperbackswap:

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

Bought at Used Book Store:

Broken Angels 1 by Setsuri Tsuzuki

This fun weekly meme comes from The Story Siren.

The Red Tent

Title: The Red Tent

Author: Anita Diamant

Publisher: Picador

ISBN: 0-312-19551-6

Why Read?: Book Club

Challenges: Historical Fiction, International, 100 Books in a Year, Mini-Challenge

Thoughts: I will admit that at first I was not excited to read this. It is the opposite of the type of book I normally read. But I ended up loving it. Diamant's rich prose draws you into Dinah's tale immediately and you get lost in her story. I highly recommend this, and it does make an excellent book club selection.

Rating: 5 stars

Happy Cafe Volume 3

Title: Happy Cafe Volume 3

Author: Kou Matsuzuki

Publisher: Tokyopop

ISBN: 978-1-4278-1732-7

Why Read?: For fun

Challenges: Manga, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: The happiness continues in this manga. While all 5 chapters can easy stand on their own (there really is not story arc running through them), they all have a similar theme: what is family. Each of the main characters learns that family is more than just those you are related to. The only thing I didn't get about this volume was the cover - the Abekawa brothers only appear in one chapter in this volume yet they get to grace the cover.

Rating: 4 stars

Follower Love Giveaway Hop - CLOSED

For the Follower Love Giveaway Hop, I will be giving away a gently used copy of a book that I have read and loved, Snow

Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See.

This is a wonderful historical fiction novel set in nineteenth century China that deals with love among many other topics.

To enter, leave a comment below telling me a book that you loved (don't forget to include your email address!).

+1 for becoming a GFC follower

+1 for following my on GetGlue

Don't forget to check out the other great giveaways:

ShapeShifter: The Demo Tapes Year 1

Title: ShapeShifter: The Demo Tapes Year 1

Author: Susan Helene Gottfried

Publisher: Lulu

ISBN: 978-0-557-02344-8

Why Read?: For fun

Challenges: 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: This is an incredibly ingenious way to promote a novel. All of the stories in ShapeShifter: The Demo Tapes Year 1 (originally published on the author's blog) are samples or out takes of Gottfried's novel, Trevor's Song. These scenes are meant to whet the appetite just like a band's demo tape. While some of the stories would probably make a little more sense after I read Trevor's Song, some of them stood alone very well. I especially liked "Soy Sauce" and "Rain".

Rating: 3 stars

Maid Sama! Volume 5

Title: Maid Sama! Volume 5

Author: Hiro Fujiwara

Publisher: Tokyopop

ISBN: 978-1-4278-1689-4

Why Read?: For fun

Challenges: Manga, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: After two OK volumes, the story finally picks back up to its original level. What happened? All the chapters in Volume 5 come from one story arc only, which is a nice, refreshing change of pace to most manga volumes. In Volume 5, the staff of Maid Latte has to fight to keep a butler cafe, headed by Misaki's rival, from buying them out. While the conflict is resolved (I won't give anything away) by the last chapter of this volume, the events in that chapter are directly related to what happened earlier. I might just continue reading this series.

Rating: 4 stars

In My Mailbox 1/30-2/5

For Review (on Bookloons.com):

A Brush of Darkness by Allison Pang

Raziel by Kristina Douglas

Angelology by Danielle Trussoni

Won:

A Billion Reasons Why by Kristin Bilerbeck

Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens

From Swaps on Swap-Bot:

Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophia Kinsella

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

This fun weekly meme comes from The Story Siren.

Reading Challenges Update - January

Here is where I stand with the challenges I have joined after the month of January (only challenges that I read books for this month are featured here):

Mystery & Suspense (1/12)

1. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

TBR Pile (1/12)

1. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

1st in a Series (1/3)

1. Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass

100 Books in a Year (7/100)

1. The New Weird by Amy VanderMeer & Jeff VanderMeer, eds.

2. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

3. Tsubasa: Those with Wings 3 by Natsuki Takaya

4. Happy Cafe 2 by Kou Matsuzuki

5. Maid Sama! 4 by Hiro Fujiwara

6. Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr

7. Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass

Young Adult Contemporary (1/13)

1. Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr

People of Color (1/3)

1. Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass

Full Steampunk Ahead (1/10)

1. The New Weird by Amy VanderMeer & Jeff VanderMeer, eds.

Manga (3/12)

1. Tsubasa: Those with Wings 3 by Natsuki Takaya

2. Happy Cafe 2 by Kou Matsuzuki

3. Maid Sama! 4 by Hiro Fujiwara

Horror & Urban Fantasy (1/24)

1. Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass

Borrowed Books (1/12)

1. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

International Reading (1/10)

1. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

Mini-Challenge (2/4)

1. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

2. Maid Sama! 4 by Hiro Fujiwara