Review: Awakening to Mindfulness

Awakening to Mindfulness: 10 Steps for Positive Change – Richard Fields, Ph.D.

scheduled for publishing 2008 – 169 pages

From the back cover -

Mindfulness is a state of consciousness that fosters heightened awareness of the self, of the senses, and of the outside world.  It is a state of being “aware.”  Reaching and sustaining this state is what makes or breaks successful recovery, according to Dr. Richard Fields.

In this highly engaging and highly practical book, Dr. Fields, an accomplished mental health and addictions counselor and speaker, “awakens” the reader to new, positive, healthy life changes and possibilities.  He clearly explains how mindfulness and meditation practices can help us all to a better, more enlightened life, a life of freedom from our addictions and delusions, a life with compassion for self and others.

My thoughts -

I received this book from Fields’ PR rep, who contacted me because I had done a review of one of her other clients’ books, and she thought I might want to review this one as well.  Overall, this was not my favorite self-help book, but let’s start with what I did like about it.  The subtitle in this book is 10 Steps for Positive Change, and one thing that I appreciated about this book was that Fields broke his theory down into ten, easy to follow steps that should be used in order to achieve mindfulness in one’s life.  I also like how the book was infused with Buddhist thought and Buddhist teachings, which I’ve always been intrigued by.  At the end of each step was a meditation script, so that one could understand and deeply explore that step while meditating.  There was also a mantra attached to each step, so that while in the car, the store, or getting ready in the morning, one can repeat this mantra to more fully divulge into that step throughout an ordinary day.

Now, on to what I wasn’t crazy about.  My main issue is that I think the majority of this book is common sense.  When I read self-help books (and honestly, I don’t read too many for this reason), I expect to be wowed by some idea or principle that I hadn’t thought of before.  I expect to be hit over the head with what exactly I need to do to achieve whatever goal the book wants for me – and I expect it to be new-to-me actions and practices that will help me get to this point.  Maybe it’s because I have a degree in psychology, but this book was nothing new to me.  For example, some of the things that Fields suggests we need to do to achieve positive change are feeling compassion for others, accepting yourself as you are, and embracing healthy habits like eating right and exercising… none of which I was shocked by.  I feel like this might be a good book to have around in an addiction/recovery place (which I think is one of Fields’ intended uses of it), and maybe a prison or other type of rehabilitation center where the people there NEED to know how to make positive changes, but for the average person, I just think the tips and tools in this book are mostly common sense.  Although, “common sense” isn’t always so common, so I could be wrong.

Would anyone else be interested in reading/reviewing this book? I’m thinking of giving it away…. just let me know.

Review: House Rules

House Rules: A Memoir - Rachel Sontag

published 2008 – 261 pages

From the book jacket -

At an early age, Rachel Sontag realized there was something deeply wrong with her father.  On the surface, he was a well-respected, suburban physician.  But questioning his authority led to brutal fights, disobedience meant humiliating punishments.  When she was twelve, he duct-taped her stereo dial to National Public Radio, measured the length of her hair and fingernails with a ruler, and regulated when she could shower.

A memoir of a father obsessed with control and the daughter who fights his suffocating grasp, House Rulesexplores the complexities of their compelling and destructive relationship, and his equally manipulative relationships with his wife and other daughter.  As Rachel’s mother cedes all her power to her husband, and her sister fades into the background of their family life, Rachel fights to escape, and, later, to make sense of what remains of her family.

 My thoughts -

It’s hard to know what to say after reading memoirs of abuse.  Saying that I loved this book doesn’t seem right somehow, because it is a sad and troubling portrayal of a person’s real life, and it was somewhat of a disturbing book to read.  But I did love the way Sontag wrote about her family, the way she put it all out there and let the reader experience what she (unfortunately) experienced in her life.  I have no doubt that her father was every bit as terrifying as she made him sound, probably more so, and reading this book simply made me feel sad for her.  I actually truly feel for Sontag, because when I was growing up, I went through similar types of things with my father… he wasn’t anywhere NEAR as abusive and controlling as hers, but he did do some of the same kinds of controlling and abnormal behaviors with myself, my mom, and my brothers and sister.  So coming from that perspective, I truly understand and appreciate her telling this story and needing to tell it in order to heal from her past.  At the end of the book, Sontag explores her relationships with her mother and sister as they stand now, and I truly hope, for her sake, that those three women are able to patch up their relationships with each other and lean on each other.  I’ve learned through my life that the only people you can really count on are your family – and when some members of your family are less than ideal, you really need to stick by those family members who ARE there for you.  So I hope that they can forge a friendship with one another from here on out.

I’d definitely recommend this book, especially if you like memoirs, this one is a really good, quick read.

Also reviewed by: Bookroomreviews at Bookroomreviews’ Weblog.

Review – The Subtle Knife

The Subtle Knife – Philip Pullman

published 1997, 235 pages

 

 

From Amazon.com -

The Subtle Knifeoffers everything we could have wished for, and more. For a start, there’s a young hero–from our world–who is a match for Lyra Silvertongue and whose destiny is every bit as shattering. Like Lyra, Will Parry has spent his childhood playing games. Unlike hers, though, his have been deadly serious. This 12-year-old long ago learned the art of invisibility: if he could erase himself, no one would discover his mother’s increasing instability and separate them.

As the novel opens, Will’s enemies will do anything for information about his missing father, a soldier and Arctic explorer who has been very much airbrushed from the official picture. Now Will must get his mother into safe seclusion and make his way toward Oxford, which may hold the key to John Parry’s disappearance. But en route and on the lam from both the police and his family’s tormentors, he comes upon a cat with more than a mouse on her mind: “She reached out a paw to pat something in the air in front of her, something quite invisible to Will.” What seems to him a patch of everyday Oxford conceals far more: “The cat stepped forward and vanished.” Will, too, scrambles through and into another oddly deserted landscape–one in which children rule and adults (and felines) are very much at risk. Here in this deathly silent city by the sea, he will soon have a dustup with a fierce, flinty little girl: “Her expression was a mixture of the very young–when she first tasted the cola–and a kind of deep, sad wariness.” Soon Will and Lyra (and, of course, her dæmon, Pantalaimon) uneasily embark on a great adventure and head into greater tragedy.

As Pullman moves between his young warriors and the witch Serafina Pekkala, the magnetic, ever-manipulative Mrs. Coulter, and Lee Scoresby and his hare dæmon, Hester, there are clear signs of approaching war and earthly chaos. There are new faces as well. The author introduces Oxford dark-matter researcher Mary Malone; the Latvian witch queen Ruta Skadi, who “had trafficked with spirits, and it showed”; Stanislaus Grumman, a shaman in search of a weapon crucial to the cause of Lord Asriel, Lyra’s father; and a serpentine old man whom Lyra and Pan can’t quite place. Also on hand are the Specters, beings that make cliff-ghasts look like rank amateurs.

Throughout, Pullman is in absolute control of his several worlds, his plot and pace equal to his inspiration. Any number of astonishing scenes–small- and large-scale–will have readers on edge, and many are cause for tears. “You think things have to be possible,” Will demands. “Things have to be true!” It is Philip Pullman’s gift to turn what quotidian minds would term the impossible into a reality that is both heartbreaking and beautiful.

My thoughts -

Another great installment in this highly acclaimed trilogy.  I’m very happy that I’ve exposed myself to these stories because they keep getting better.  The Subtle Knife dives deeper into Lyra’s story, exposing the reader to more characters, more worlds, and more details as to what this series is really about.  I don’t know much else to say about these books since I’m pretty sure most everyone on the planet has read them, but I really am enjoying this series and am looking forward to the third and final book!

Also reviewed by: Charley at Bending Bookshelf.

Review – Leftovers

Leftovers – Laura Weiss

published January 2008, 232 pages

 

From the back cover -

Blair and Ardith are best friends who have committed an unforgivable act in the name of love and justice.  But in order to understand what could drive two young women to such extreme measures, first you’ll have to understand why.  You’ll have to listen as they describe parents who are alternately absent and smothering, classmates who mock and shun anyone different, and young men who are allowed to hurt and dominate without consequence.  You will have to learn what it’s like to be a teenage girl who locks her bedroom door at night, who has been written off by all the adults around her as damaged goods.  A girl who has no one to trust except the one person she’s forbidden to see.  You’ll have to understand what it’s really like to be forgotten and abandoned in America today.

Are you ready?

My thoughts -

I really, really liked this YA novel, much better even than Weiss’s first, Such a Pretty Girl.  Blair and Ardith (love that name, btw) just seemed so real, such truthful portrayals of teenage girls, that their story seemed heartbreakingly common.  They both were raised in abusive homes, although the abuse both suffered was of two completely different types.  Blair lived in a home where every single thing she did was controlled by her parents, the image they were trying to uphold was more important than her personhood or their family’s happiness, while Ardith lived in a home where she was basically invisible – drunk parents, parties all the time, and a brother who both ignored and tortured her at the same time.  The sad thing about this story is that I know these kinds of families are not that unusual in today’s world – I knew plenty of girls who have suffered similar teenage years, in one way or another.  Just reading Blair and Ardith’s stories was very emotional, I was sucked into their lives from the first words, and to be honest, I didn’t much care about the conclusion, about the “unforgivable act” they committed together.  Yes, what they did was pretty terrible.  But set against the backdrop of their heartbreaking lives, I wouldn’t call it unforgivable by any means.

I’d definitely suggest reading this book for yourself, even if you are not typically a YA fan, this one will get you.  It’s very well written, and such a crazy good portrayal of teenage girls living in pain.  Such a great one.

Also reviewed by: Becky at Becky’s Book Reviews

question…

So I’m playing with my blog, thinking I’ll finally attempt this 3 column thing… and I can’t figure it out!  Can anyone explain to me how to put buttons or pictures in the sidebars?  For example, in my left sidebar I really want to put in buttons for all the challenges I’m participating in, but I don’t know if I’m supposed to use a text box and copy the links and paste them (actually, take that back – I KNOW that’s not the right way to do it, because that’s what I did, and it did not work), or how else to do it.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks peeps.

An award & some giveaways!

Thanks SO much to Nicole from Book Escape, for this award:  

I really appreciate receiving this, and now I will take the time to nominate 7 other bloggers who also deserve to be recognized for their blogging awesomeness!

1. Chartroose from Bloody Hell, It’s a Book Barrage!  – I have no clue how she found my blog, but somehow she did, commented, and I’ve been reading and loving her ever since.

2. Lisa at Books on the Brain - Lisa was the first book blog I found when I started doing this in January, and it still reamins one of my favorites.  She writes great reviews and has similar taste to my own.

3.  Eva at A Striped Armchair - Eva’s reviews are incredibly thorough and insightful.  She always introduces me to books I’d never have heard of otherwise, and even though she gets upset over my hatred for Jane Austen, I know that deep down she is ok with it and loves me anyway.

4. Girls Just Reading - These three ladies write fabulous reviews, and they usually write about either books I’ve already read or books I’m interested in for future reading.  Plus, I just love the idea of teaming up to do a book blog with some friends!

5. Becky at Becky’s Book Reviews - This girl reads crazy amounts of books, and reviews all of them.  Seriously, she posts at least once a day, sometimes up to 3 or 4 times in a day, and the books she reviews ALWAYS sound interesting to me.  She’s introduced me to a lot of YA books, and I previously didn’t have much of an interest in that genre.

6. Kristen at Book Club Classics - Kristen also writes really great reviews about books that I’m interested in.  She also has a very well-organized blog with lots of resources for book clubs (which coincidentally, I do not have a book club, but I still love her blog).

7. Cara at The Curvature - Cara is so kick-ass.  I cannot ever resist an opportunity to plug the amazingness of her feminst thoughts and writings.  She actually most likely does not even know I exist, since I rarely ever comment, but I still love reading her blog and always learn from it.  Go check out her stuff immidiately – I’m telling you, this girl is amazing.

Thanks again, Nicole, this award is truly appreciated.

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OK, now on to some giveaways.  First, Natasha at Maw Books is doing a very important giveaway in preparation for her possible future project to help the citizens of Darfur.  I am actually not going to be entering this one myself, simply because I’ve read almost every book she’s giving away, but it’s a good one and you all should go check it out. 

Trish is giving away a copy of Far World.  Unfortunately, blogging about this contest is not grounds for extra entries, so I’m letting you all know about this one out of the kindness of my heart… that’s how much I love you people.

Check out Devourer of Books for a chance to win Queen of the Road.  This book looks really good and I think a lot of you would enjoy the chance to win!

Stephanie at The Written Word has a copy of The Wednesday Sisters up for grabs.  I’ve had my eye on this one for a long time now, so this giveaway definitely excites me.

Finally, Julie at Booking Mama has a copy of Stone Creek that she’ll be giving away.  This book looks pretty good too, I highly recommend checking that one out too.

Ok everyone, good luck… let me know if you win anything!

one word meme

I was tagged for this one by Trish, so here goes… (I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to stick to one word for every answer).

1. Where is your cell phone? nightstand
2. Your significant other? Bob
3. Your hair? brownish
4. Your mother? amazing
5. Your father? ehhh
6. Your favorite thing? Books
7. Your dream last night? audit
8 Your favorite drink? caffinated
9. Your dream/goal? success
10. The room you’re in? office-ish
11. Your hobby? Reading
12. Your fear? death (not of me, of those I love) … (knew I couldn’t do it )
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? happy
14. What you’re not? spoiled
15. Muffins? YUM!
16. One of your wish list items? books

17. Where you grew up? Illinois
18. The last thing you did? TV
19. What are you wearing? pjs
20. Favorite gadget? digicam
21. Your pets? kitties
22. Your computer? lovely
23. Your mood? sleepy
24. Missing someone? Adrianna
25. Your car? Neon
26. Something you’re not wearing? jewelry

27. Favorite store? Target (LOVE IT)
28. Like someone? everyone
29. Your favorite color? green
30. When is the last time you laughed? earlier
31. Last time you cried? days

I (almost) stuck to the one word format.  I’m too lazy to tag anyone right now, so if you feel like doing this one, go for it.

Review – Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte

published August 1959, 320 pages

From the back cover -

There are few more convincing, less sentimental accounts of passionate love than Wuthering Heights.  This is the story of a savage, tormented foundling, Heathcliff, who falls wildly in love with Catherine Earnshaw, the daughter of his benefactor, and the violence and misery that result from their thwarted longing for each other.  A book of immense power and strength, it is filled with the raw beauty of the moors and an uncanny understanding of the terrible truths about men and women – an understanding made even more extraordinary by the fact that it came from the heart of a frail, inexperienced girl who lived our her lonely life in the moorland wilderness and died a year after this great novel was published.

My thoughts -

Anyone who is a frequent reader of this blog knows of my aversion to classics.  I don’t typically enjoy them, I always have to force myself to finish them, and I usually just end up giving up before I finish altogether.  This book started out similar – it took me a really long time to get invested in the story and characters, I read it very slowly, and I was pretty sure I was going to hate it by page 50.  Fortunately for me, though, I ended up enjoying the story when I (sadly) forced myself to continue on.  (Thanks, Classics Challenge, for that little push!)  I am SO proud of myself for getting through this and actually feeling like I somewhat enjoyed the book.  Someone described this book to me as almost like a soap opera (can’t remember who…), and that individual is completely right.  There is so much drama in here… it’s crazy.  I definitely felt attached to the characters, even with all their unpredictable drama, and I’m glad that I finished the book and got to appreciate it.  I can’t really say that this is one of my favorites, but it is a pretty decent book, and I can see why it is dubbed a “classic”.

Also reviewed by: bookchronicle at Adventures in Reading.

Review – Savage Inequalities

Savage Inequalities:  Children in America’s Schools – Jonathan Kozol

published: 1991, 233 pages

From Kirkus Reviews -

Kozol again turns a floodlight on a dark corner of the nation’s soul, the classrooms of the minority poor. Here, Kozol returns to the public schools where he began a career as spokesman for the powerless and conscience of the privileged 25 years ago (Death at an Early Age). Reports of schools in black and Hispanic communities from New York to California– where not only books, crayons, and lab equipment but also toilet paper are rationed–are painful to read. School buildings turn into swamps when it rains or must be closed (or, worse yet, are kept open) when sewage backs up into kitchens and cafeterias. A school in the South Bronx is set up in a windowless skating rink next to a mortuary, with class sizes up to 35, lunch in three shifts, a library of 700 books, and no playground. The school population is 90-percent black and Hispanic. Yet it is only a few minutes north to a more affluent part of the Bronx and a public school surrounded by flowering trees, two playing fields, and a playground, with a planetarium and an 8,000-book library. There, the population is overwhelmingly white and Asian. More horrifying stories follow–but it’s Kozol’s intention to horrify, in order to make the point that these vast disparities in quality of education are caused by racism. Nearly 40 years after Brown v. Board of Education, many US schools are still separate but no longer even remotely equal. Critics will argue that these sad case histories are isolated or rare and are situated in communities whose economies have collapsed. Partly true, but Kozol’s point is that justice and decency call for sharing resources in times of trouble, not abandoning children (and their teachers) to degradation and ignorance. A powerful appeal to save children by redistributing the wealth. It will cause angry, but perhaps fruitful, debate.

My thoughts -

First of all, I realize this book is slightly dated, in that it was published 17 years ago.  The unfortunate thing is that I don’t believe much has changed since Kozol wrote it… if there have been major changes, he wouldn’t have found it necessary to write his second book, Shame of the Nation, or continue to push for equal-opportunity education like he is still doing today.  So, although this book was researched and written awhile ago, I do believe it is still relevant for discussion today.

This book is sad.  Plain and simple, it made me very sad to read about the way these kids have to “learn” every single day.  Children who live in poverty every single day of their lives, who struggle just to get a decent meal and a good night’s sleep, who cannot count on safety, a clean environment, or even love from their families, should absolutely, 100% have one place they can call their sanctuary – their school.  Unfortunately, this book showed that is simply not the case.  Children who live in these horrifying conditions of dire poverty are going to “schools” (and I say that loosely because some of the schools Kozol describes simply are not places to learn) that are decrepit, dirty, disgusting, with not enough space, not enough teachers, not enough books, no computers, and sometimes not even enough working toilets.  There isn’t another way to describe this book other than horrifying.  Pure and simple, we should not be allowing any child to spend a minute in these conditions, let alone every day for eight hours a day.  This book is heartbreaking to read, but it needs to be read, because I truly do not think that conditions have changed since the book was published in 1991.  This is something that, as a country, we need to improve, big time.  Our future literally depends on it.

this & that

Well, it’s been awhile since I’ve posted, and for that I do have to apologize.  I was away all weekend in St. Louis for a good friend’s bachelorette party (I’m actually her maid of honor in the upcoming wedding), and I got exactly ZERO reading done this weekend… it was packed with festivities!  I had anticipated reading at least part of the six hour car ride there, but ended up spending most of that time lost in conversation, which is always nice.  So anyways, I did finish one book last week which I’ll be reviewing possibly tonight, but before that, I have to post about some giveaways and the fact that I decided to join another (!!!) challenge.

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So, the giveaways.  THREE bloggers are doing the Hatchette Book Group 14 book giveaway right now… this is INSANE.  You have the opportunity to win so many books!!  Go check out Bookroomreviews, Musings of a Bookish Kitty, and Bookshipper if you’d like to enter these amazing contests. 

Also, Dar at Peeking Between the Pages is giving away a copy of The Host by Stephenie Meyer.  Go check it out immidiately for a chance to win!  And hurry - this one ends Thursday!  This is a book that a LOT of people have their eyes on, so I’m sure there will be plenty of competition, but there’s always a chance that YOU could be the lucky winner!

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And last, my decicion to join yet ANOTHER challenge (when I’m well aware that I probably won’t be able to finish the ones I’m currently enrolled in).  It is the New Classics Challenge, hosted by Lost in a Good Story.  It just sounds like so much fun, and I already own a lot of these books.  The list is from Entertainment Weekly, and apparently they decided that all of these books will be considered the “best reads” from 1983 to 2003.  I’ve already read some of the books on the list, and I own several others, so I figured this is an easy challenge and hopefully a fun one too.  I’m going to color red the ones I’ve already read and then list at the bottom the books I plan to read for the challenge.

1. The Road , Cormac McCarthy (2006)
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)
4. The Liars’ Club, Mary Karr (1995)
5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)
7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
8. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)
9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)
11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
12. Blindness, José Saramago (1998)
13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
14. Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)
16. The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
17. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (1988)
18. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)
19. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)
20. Bridget Jones’s Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)
21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000)
22. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)
23. The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)
24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
26. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)
27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)
28. Naked, David Sedaris (1997)
29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)
31. The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien (1990)
32. Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch (1988)
33. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005)
34. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)
35. The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004)
36. Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
37. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003)
38. Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (1998)
39. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
40. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000) - I am in the middle of this trilogy right now
41. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
42. LaBrava, Elmore Leonard (1983)
43. Borrowed Time, Paul Monette (1988)
44. Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)
45. Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (1988)
46. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)
47. World’s Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985)
48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
49. Clockers, Richard Price (1992)
50. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)
51. The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcom (1990)
52. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)
53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)
54. Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000)
55. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)
56. The Night Manager, John le Carré (1993)
57. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)
58. Drop City, TC Boyle (2003)
59. Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat (1995)
60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)
61. Money, Martin Amis (1985)
62. Last Train To Memphis, Peter Guralnick (1994)
63. Pastoralia, George Saunders (2000)
64. Underworld, Don DeLillo (1997)
65. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)
66. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)
67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
68. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006)
69. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
70. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)
71. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman (1997)
72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)
73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)
74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)
75. Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983)
76. A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (1998)
77. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
78. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)
79. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
80. Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984)
81. Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991)
82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)
83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
84. Holes, Louis Sachar (1998)
85. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)
86. And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)
87. The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006)
88. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)
89. Close Range, Annie Proulx (1999)
90. Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl (2001)
91. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (2003)
92. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)
93. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)
94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001)
95. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (1998)
96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)
97. Jesus’ Son, Denis Johnson (1992)
98. The Predators’ Ball, Connie Bruck (1988)
99. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)
100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004)

And here is what I’ll be reading:

1. The Road - Cormac McCarthy

2. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genious – Dave Eggers

3. Bel Canto – Ann Patchett

4. Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell

5. Gilead – Marilynne Robinson

6. Holes – Louis Sachar

 

Ok, now it’s time for me to get some actual reading done… I haven’t finished a book in WAY too long.  I should have a review of Savage Inequalities up tomorrow, for anyone who cares.