 | The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
Buy new: $15.96 / Used from: $0.01 My grandmother lent this to me to read. I would say that Albom is not as gifted a writer as DeLillo, the author I read before this book, but that he was much more enjoyable.
|
 | The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Buy new: $16.47 / Used from: $0.01 It was an okay book. I wanted to smack the protagonists at some points because they were being needlessly dense, but other than that, it was a decent read.
|
 | Cat's Cradle: A Novel by Kurt Vonnegut
Buy new: $10.20 / Used from: $1.79 I love Vonnegut. This was probably one of the funniest books I've read in a while. Absolutely great!
|
 | Isolde, Queen of the Western Isle (Tristan and Isolde Novels, Book 1) by Rosalind Miles
Buy new: $10.17 / Used from: $0.01 This was a good story about a subplot in the Arthurian legend. It was decent.
|
 | Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Buy new: $7.99 / Used from: $0.01 An absorbing book that only covers about a year in the life of some retired Texas Rangers. I think I might have to get some of the other books McMurtry's written about Gus and Call.
|
 | The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell
Buy new: $9.68 / Used from: $4.72 Vowell is a capable writer, but something in her tone strikes me as either snobby or smug, and I'm not sure which it is. I'd enjoy her a lot more if I got the feeling that she is sincere and genuine.
|
 | The Thistle and the Rose: The Tudor Princesses by Jean Plaidy
Buy new: $11.16 / Used from: $1.82 A surprisingly good historical novel. The emphasis is on interpersonal relationships and political struggles for power.
|
 | Introduction to the Poem by Robert W. Boynton
Buy new: $27.63 / Used from: $0.08 I really enjoyed reading the poems; I must say that I completely ignored the textbook parts, mainly because I'm not taking a class. This was my Mom's poetry text from the seventies.
|
 | Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett
Buy new: $7.99 / Used from: $1.25 Waiting for doctors takes a long time, so I brought this book along with me to Mayo. May I say that I really enjoy reading books by Terry Pratchett? Hugely creative, he is.
|
 | Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman by Elizabeth Buchan
Buy new: $11.20 / Used from: $0.01 I thought this was a good book to read when you're slightly depressed -- someone else has a bad year and look! She grows and becomes stronger and better because of it.
|
 | The Secret House: The Extraordinary Science of an Ordinary Day by David Bodanis
Buy used from: $0.01 Mr. Bodanis struck me as a needlessly alarmist writer. Some of the things he talks about in the book are entertaining and informative, and other things were clearly included solely to gross you out.
|
 | Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore
Buy used from: $7.21 I absolutely loved this book, but its copy editor needs to be drug out and lashed with a wet noodle. There were at least a dozen spelling and grammar mistakes that I noticed! For shame on them!
|
 | Our Lady of the Lost and Found: A Novel of Mary, Faith, and Friendship by Diane Schoemperlen
Buy new: $18.96 / Used from: $0.04 I thought the idea behind this book was good, but that in Schoemperlen's execution it became rather dry and uninteresting.
|
 | Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words by Bill Bryson
Buy used from: $0.49 An interesting look at word use. A lot of words have meanings different from those I associate with them!
|
 | The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family by Mary S. Lovell
Buy used from: $0.90 Not knowing who the Mitfords were, I was not expecting a history full of tiffs and arguments over politics become personal. But it was a good read despite the fighting.
|
 | Think of England: A Novel by Alice Elliott Dark
Buy used from: $0.01 A rather brief read -- finished it in about four hours. Worth a look despite an uneven first third. I think the author was trying to fit too much in there, that's all.
|
 | Economic Exploitation of Bangladesh by Mahfuz R. Chowdhury
Buy new: $10.95 / Used from: $10.80 An informative, brief read about the economic history of Bangladesh.
|
 | Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time by Michael Shermer
Buy new: $11.56 / Used from: $4.99 The last chapter of this book is particularly enlightening. Makes me wonder if I can control these tendencies to fit data to a pattern now that I know about them.
|
 | In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien
Buy used from: $0.01 A graphic and ambiguous novel -- I liked it and didn't like it at the same time.
|
 | The Trail of the Serpent (Modern Library Classics) by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
Buy new: $23.00 / Used from: $0.36 Took me a long time to read this, due to school, but it's quite an engaging book. I can just see a movie being made out of this -- Braddon's writing is that visual.
|
 | What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained by Robert L. Wolke
Buy new: $17.13 / Used from: $4.30 Quite a delightful book on food science! It seriously reads like the TV show "Good Eats." If you like Alton Brown, you'll probably like this, too.
|
 | The American Language by H.L. Mencken
Buy new: $37.80 / Used from: $19.78 Mencken was a scholar with attitude, and it shows when he's discussing the fascinating world of the American language.
|
 | Keeper of the Light by Diane Chamberlain
Buy used from: $3.98 A friend's child lent this to me to read, and I must say that it's the type of book that would have captured my imagination when I was her age (about ten to twelve).
|
 | Whenever Your Attitude Stinks... Read This by Wayne Allred
Buy new: $5.95 / Used from: $0.01 Eh. I thought this was kinda dumb, but my mom gave it to me, and I appreciate her thinking of me.
|
 | Global Vegetarian Cooking: Quick & Easy Recipes from Around the World by Troth Wells
Buy new: $15.56 / Used from: $7.00 And to round out the year, tastiness. I've read the recipes and am prepared to make some good stuff!
|
Listmania!
