Shanghai Girls - Lisa See

Genre: Historical Fiction

Format: Softcover/Library

Pages: 309

ISBN: 9780812980530

Rating 4/5 Stars

I don't know why I can't give it 5 stars but it came very VERY close to it. There were so many times where I wanted to throw my book across the room because I was all too excited or angry with something in the book. Not in a bad way. I love when that happens. I was so animated throughout the whole book. I constantly made faces, whether happy or sad or whatever. There were so many twists and turns and a lot of unexpected things that happened but there were also a few things that I knew were coming. I love to read historical fiction. It paints a picture of a history that you were not a part of but of how it changes the way we know things and how it shapes our lives.

I loved this book and I am very excited to find out that there may just be a sequel which is good because the ending drove me nuts! It was such a cliff hanger! It is a nice marketing strategy but I hate that! I hate when you are left with nothing and are forced to wait until many months later until the next installment comes along but at least I got that. I would have rated the book lower if I had not known about the impending sequel.

I have Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Peony in Love but have yet to read them but I do hear so many great things so I am excited about getting to them in the near future.

The Zahir - Paulo Coelho

Genre: Fiction

Format: Softcover

Pages: 296

ISBN: 9780060832810

Rating 4/5 Stars

I read Paulo Coelho: A Warrior's Life - The Authorized Biography by Fernando Morais back in January 2010. I won an ARC from Goodreads and I just fell in love with him. I love that an author can be a celebrity. Here in the states, everyone writes a book, from Justin Bieber to Laurena Bobbett so when people read a great piece of work it's just like "ahh, a refreshing book" but no one ever really thinks of the author so much and after reading The Zahir it makes me look at writer's in a whole new light. I have always thought of writers as being celebrities but many writers don't feel that way. I met a few authors and they just act like it's another day in the office but then again how do I expect them to act? I remember meeting a bunch of author's and thinking" Wow, why am I the only one who is excited and nervous?" and when I asked the other people who were with me how they felt about meeting him/her they just shrugged it off. Why go and meet an author if you aren't gonna be completely celebrity-shocked? I never reacted out of the ordinary when meeting anyone famous but I did respect that they do something that I could never do, such as write, act, or even sing.

Anyway, I may be getting a little ahead of myself. I loved The Zahir and I love how it is one man's journey of finding his wife who left him because she loved him so much that she did not want their "usual" relationship to get in the way of their marriage. Usual by means of comfort and losing touch with what is important and what is true and real. People become so used to their way of life that they forget the most important things and take advantage of what is most important. I found myself writing all his quotes in my little book so that I could never forget his words but I know that writing it was a waste because I will always know his words and always understand what he means when he says them. I can totally understand now why he is such a celebrity. His writings and ideologies are fascinating and true that encourages me to read everything he writes. I follow his blog and get his tweets but having his books on my shelves seem to hold more meaning.

To quote form The Zahir "...if a book isn't self-explanatory, then it isn't worth reading."

Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson

Genre: YA Fiction (?)

Pages: 198

ISBN: 9780142414736

Format: Softcover / Library

Rating: 4/5 Stars

First I would like to say that this book is so painful to read. I kept getting such a lump in my throat. I just kept thinking of how horrible high school can be and what an effect is has on shaping these young adults. I also kept thinking about my own girl. Even though they are only 1 and 2 it still upsets me to think that people can be so hurtful and so blind. I hate this stage in life. It may have been fun at times but teens can be so harsh. They don't know any better and think that they know it all. I went to a not-so-great HS but I survived because i was raised not to sweat the small stuff an I understood that people can be followers and I knew who my true friends were. I hope that I can instill that into my children. I want them to tell me everything that bothers them. I don't expect to get the truth out of them all the time but I at least want to know if someone hurts them.

I heard about this book for quite some time but never even thought about reading it and then of course it was put on the Banned Books list and then I just had to get it. It is also a movie that came out in 2004. The book just hit it's 10 year mark giving me another reason to read it. I just hope that by this book being out that people will not be so naive. I wish that parents weren't so obsessed in their own lives that they forget the most valuable things are at school or at home and should really notice abrupt changes. Don't be blind. Parents shape their children and can make a great impact on their community and should really know what their children are like and so on. I could ramble on forever but I think you should read this just to understand all the thought that circle around my head. I am sure you will see the same things I see and feel what I felt after and during reading this.

Beautiful Creatures - Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Genre: YA SiFi Fantasy

Pages: 563

Format: Hardcover / Library
ISBN: 9780316042673

Rating: 3/5

This book would have been a lot better if it were about 200 pages smaller. It dragged so much at times I had to force myself to continue on. The story line was cute and young love is always dear to read but I really didn't believe Ethan. I mean, two women were writing from his POV and it drove me crazy. First, a young guy like that does not talk the way he does. Not even in the South. There are guys like him just not at the age of 16. Maybe 35??? I don't know it was just hard to believe but then again it was a nice change. It's not like all that magic stuff is true either so it was nice to think that 16 year old boys could be like that too even if it is not true.


I gave such a rating simply on the book being well over 500 pages and most of it was unnecessary so I felt like I was being forced to read it. I only continued to read on because I wanted to know how it ended but I am lucky that I didn't just stop the book. I hate to give up on books. I always try to pull through and this was definitely a struggle but in the end I liked it and would probably read the second installment but probably not anytime soon. I need a break. I would also like to see what everyone else who felt the same way as me, what they thought of Beautiful Darkness. To see if it has the same effect.

The Library Diaries - Ann Miketa

This book took me forever to get. I really wanted to read it based on all the controversy. So much so that there are only a handful printed. They discontinued the printing, the woman got fired and the book is now officially banned! It sells on Amazon for $1000! Thankfully I got it for under $40. It's a bout a library worker (not a librarian mind you) explaining, or shall I say demeaning, her regular patrons. She explains how they are retarded, have low IQ's, how they shouldn't be allowed to procreate, hoe they live and feed of government assistance, and how some of them are some sort of intelligent but are lazy. She really goes off on these people.

The book was bad! It was basically her just raving and ranting about people and how screwed up the library itself was and how people should not live their lives. It seems like she is either writing in her diary or as if she is speaking to someone else. There were some things that I agreed with but mos of it was BS and she must have been so fed up with her job and she just ranted! Most of the stuff she didn't know for sure and there are always two sides to every story.

I just had to add this: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=72228

OK. I undestand the freedom of speech but try not to hurt people in the place where you work!