February Reads

9. The Wednesday Wars (Schmidt) ~ 3.5/5

10. Agent X (Boyd) ~ 2.75/5

11. The History of Love (Krauss) ~ 3/5

12. The Bog Child (Dowd) ~ 2/5

13. Unbroken (Hillenbrand) ~ 3.75/5

AWOL on the Appalachian Trail (Miller) ~ DNF

Short Story (not counted)

Bold titles made Best Reads of 2011 list

~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~

Monthly - Yearly Stats:

Audiobooks:  4 - 9

Best Reads:  0 - 0

Books:  0 - 0

DNF:  1 - 1

eBooks:   1 - 4

New-to-Me Authors:  4 - 8

Off My Shelf:  1 - 2

Published in 2011:  1 - 3

Short Stories:  0 - 15

YA:   2 - 5

Ratings
Monthly - Yearly Stats:

5.00 = 0 - 0

4.75 = 0 - 0

4.50 = 0 - 0

4.25 = 0 - 0

4.00 = 0 - 1

3.75 = 1 - 2

3.50 = 1 - 5

3.25 = 0 - 0

3.00 = 1 - 2

2.75 = 1 - 1

2.50 = 0 - 0

2.25 = 0 - 0

2.00 = 1 - 2

1.75 = 0 - 0

1.50 = 0 - 0

1.25 = 0 - 0

1.00 = 0 - 0

__________

average = 3.00 - 3.21

AWOL ON THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL

Author:  David Miller

Genre:  Non-Fiction Travelogue, Standalone

Published:  2010
Personal Rating:  DNF:  #1

Format:  eBook - Kindle

I thoroughly enjoyed Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods, so when I came across this book I thought I'd give it a go.  Unfortunately, it became my first DNF of the year.  For the amount I read, I didn't find anything inherently wrong with it - I just wasn't captivated, so I listened to my gut and decided not to continue.  I could be missing out on a great book, but I'm going to let that go.  I'm hoping I don't experience this too much, but it's necessary for me to be a wiser reader.  I waste too much precious time with books that I'm not excited about. 

Traveling

Yep!  I've been gone for almost a week visiting my oldest daughter in Bogota, Colombia.  I was able to finish listening to Unbroken (Hillenbrand) on the flight down, but other than that - hay lectura para mi (no reading for me).  We (my youngest daughter and I) had a layover in New York City on the way home, so we spent the day literally running up and down streets and avenues, and traveling underground trying to see as much as we could in 9 hours.  It was a fabulous trip all the way around!

Oh!  My personal watch for books, Nooks, Kindles, iPads, etc. in the hands of travelers was somewhat of a disappointment.  I didn't see anybody reading on Nooks and Kindles until the subway in New York, and they tied 3 and 3.  As for books, I only saw a handful of people reading anywhere.  Of the ones I saw, I could only see 2 book titles and both were books I read.  One was Room.  I don't remember the other at the moment.  I did see a Chinese girl reading a Chinese Manga book.  I found it very interesting to watch her read.

I'm now ready to get back into my reading routine.  I have a few loose ends to wrap up (already completed one by posting about Unbroken) and then I can spend some of today reading.  Woo.
     

UNBROKEN

Author: Laura Hillenbrand

Genre: Non-Fiction, Standalone

Published:  2010

Personal Rating: 3.75/5 (good +)
Format:  Audiobook

Yearly Count:  13

Amazon Snippet:

Hillenbrand unfurls the story of Louie Zamperini--a juvenile delinquent-turned-Olympic runner-turned-Army hero. During a routine search mission over the Pacific, Louie’s plane crashed into the ocean, and what happened to him over the next three years of his life is a story that will keep you glued to the pages, eagerly awaiting the next turn in the story and fearing it at the same time.

 

I was captivated by Louie's story from the very beginning; I honestly didn't want to stop listening. His childhood intrigued me, and the writing was interesting. However, after the start of his air force career, the way in which the story was being told became old. It was tedious and too factual due to it's third person narration. I was missing the personal dialog.

Louie's story, like most, if not all WWII stories, was one of pure evil and heartbreak. Some events in this story were physically impossible to endure or survive without some monumental mental damage - they absolutely made no sense. I am of the belief that some events were profoundly embellished.  Ultimately, I'm glad to have heard Louie's story, but I'm not in awe of Unbroken like most readers have expressed.

BOG CHILD

Author: Siobhan Dowd

Genre: YA Fiction, Standalone

Published: 2010

Personal Rating: 2/5 (not enjoyable)
Format:  Audiobook

Yearly Count: 12

During the early 80s in Ireland, a teenaged Fergus and his uncle illegally stumble upon a body in a bog. While the mystery of the body is being researched by an archeologist, the politics of Ireland comes to the forefront.

I saw this somewhere on the web and then again at the library in audiobook format, so I decided to bring it home. After peeking at it on Amazon (highly rated reviews), I decided to give it a go. It ended up being not something I felt compelled to read and really shouldn't have continued with it. There are just too many others books I'd rather get to. However, there are Irish historical elements, mystery and young love that I can see would hold other people's attention. It just wasn't for me.

THE HISTORY OF LOVE

Author: Nicole Krauss

Genre: Fiction, Standalone

Published:  2005

Personal Rating: 3/5 (just okay)
Format:  Audiobook

Yearly Count: 11

As a young man, Leo seeks his past love and immigrates to the United States to find her.  Over 60 years has passed and a teenager named Alma is in search of her namesake from the book The History of Love.  In addition to dealing with other family problems, Alma continues on her quest until she finds some answers.

I was in and out of love with this book. I loved Leo, the older man and all that surrounded him, but did not love Alma, the teenager and all that surrounded her. The "Leo chapters" were captivating, as well as endearing. George Guidall, the audiobook narrator, did a phenomenal job portraying him.  I could listen to him all day as Leo.

As for the plot, bringing two strangers together wasn't odd, but I thought it was strange in how their lives eventually intertwined.  Too convenient?  Too unrealistic?  I'm not sure, but I didn't like it.  Also, I became confused from time to time, but just hoped it would all come together in the end. It was uncomfortable to not be fully aware of the who, what and wheres of the story line; however, I had times when I thought the plot was clever and intriguing.  Again, in and out of love, hence the middle of the road rating.

AGENT X

Author: Noah Boyd

Genre: Mystery, Steve Vail Series #2

Published: 2011

Personal Rating: 2.75/5 (eh +)
Format:  eBook - iPad

Yearly Count: 10



From the Publisher:

FBI-agent-turned-bricklayer Steve Vail once helped the FBI solve a brilliant extortion plot. It was supposed to be a one-and-done deal. But when he's in Washington, D.C., to see Kate Bannon—an FBI assistant director—on what he thinks will be a romantic New Year's Eve date, suddenly things get complicated. The FBI has another unsolvable problem, and it has Vail's name written all over it.  

A man known as Calculus, an officer at the Russian embassy, has approached the FBI claiming that he has a list of Americans who are selling confidential information to the Russian SVR. In exchange for the list, he is asking for a quarter of a million dollars for each traitor the FBI apprehends. But then Calculus informs the FBI that he has been swiftly recalled to Moscow, and the Bureau suspects the worst: the Russians have discovered what Calculus is up to, probably have access to his list, and will be hunting the traitors to kill them unless the FBI can find them first.

The FBI realizes that it has to keep the operation quiet. Once again, Vail is the perfect man, along with Kate Bannon, who would be anyone's first pick for help on an impossibly dangerous case. But finding the traitors isn't going to be easy. In fact, it's going to be downright deadly. And if the Bricklayer survives, he will have to come up with a few tricks of his own.

I was so excited to see that Boyd came out with the second in this series and jumped at the chance to get it in eBook format. I really enjoyed his first and was looking forward to more.  Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations.

There was some good, though.  I thoroughly enjoyed the main characters (Steve and Kate) and a minor character as well. There was a playfulness between the three of them (mainly S and K) that made me want to read more. The teasing was not pervasive, but it was very apparent, and I love relationships of that nature. If these characters were placed in a different story line, I think I would have been a happy camper (like I was in the first).

Simply stated - I didn't like the story line or how it was executed.  At times it was very difficult to keep plugging away.  Although, that hasn't deterred me from eagerly awaiting the next installment of the bricklayer.  He's an interesting character, and I want to read more about him.

My thanks go to HarperCollins and NetGalley for sending me this eBook.

THE WEDNESDAY WARS

Author:  Gary D. Schmidt

Genre:  YA Fiction, Standalone

Published:  2007

Personal Rating:  3.5/5 (good)
Format:  Audiobook

Yearly Count:  9

During the 60's, Holling is attending the 7th grade at a Long Island public school.  Being that he does not attend Catholic or Jewish afternoon classes on Wednesdays, he has to spend his time with Mrs. Baker, his classroom teacher.  The teacher that hates his guts.

Collings was an adorable character. There were some moments that warmed my heart, made me giggle, and ones that were relatable. However, even with all the positive emotions, I didn't find the story all that compelling.  It's an award winner, so don't mind me.