Book #10- Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons

Wow.  I picked this up on a whim at Ravenswood Used Books in Lincoln Square.  I'm really glad I did, too.  This is such a great tale of the strength of this little girl, and the narrative makes you smirk if not laugh at some parts.  Reminded me a little of "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" but more tragic, and with a southern accent.  I definitely recommend it.

At this rate, Lindsay and I are going to have 32 books done in no time.  Should we aim higher, or just see how many we can do?  Hmmm???

Book #9- You Shall Know Our Velocity! by Dave Eggers

What can I say... yet another Dave Eggers masterpiece.  This guy has his hands in everything, and I love the way he writes.  The guy hasn't had the easiest life, but you come away from his books with zeal and a zest for life, and really- he is amazing.  If you don't know about him already, go out and buy this book.
It's so hard when you find an author that you love, to not just ignore all other authors, and read everything that they've published.  There are a few authors like that for me, but I find it's much more rewarding to read one of their books every now and then instead of just all at once.  Maybe that's also because I get bored easily, even with writing styles. 
What is everyone reading right now?  I'd like to hear about other people's favorite authors, or writing styles.  I'm tired of picking out my own books, help me out here!

Book #8- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

I had been reading about this book for so long though I had never read the book itself.  Wow...am I glad I did!  This is such a great tale with so much insight.  Read this at any point in your life, and you'll feel instant clarity afterward.  I definitely recommend this to anyone!

Wow, it's been a crazy couple of weeks, so my reading has fallen behind but again- no excuses!  So I'm halfway done with #9, and I'll try to finish it up quickly! 

It's funny, I was recently reading some "list of favorite/great books" or another, and in my mind, I was saying to myself, "I've read that one, why is it not on one of my bookshelves at home?"  Then I remembered that "loaning" a book doesn't always mean you'll get it back.  That made me only a little upset until I remembered that more than a few books on my selves were "loans" as well.  Oh well. Books are karmic, I suppose.  (Right?!)

Lindsay Book #9 The Fall: Book Two of the Strain Trilogy by Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan

Well, I should start out by saying I read the first book in the trilogy over a year ago. I was drawn to this book because of the hype being that Guillermo Del Toro director of various films such as Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth & Blade 2 is one of the authors. I didn't like the first book it was just not captivating and interesting enough to be a good read. So going into the second one I didn't really remember much of the story line and the first couple chapters I was just stumbling around tripping on plots.

The book is just a bit boring and really drawn out in some parts. It didn't get "good" until almost the end and even then it was not that "good". I hate not recommending a book but I just can't recommend this book, sorry amazing director Guillermo Del Toro.

The upside for the book is that it has four stars on Amazon so I guess I was just missing something. Or I'm just an apocalypse snob that doesn't love everything celeb do, write or say. 

Here is my tip for you.....don't believe all the hype.

Book #8 We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson was a wonderful book. A very quick read at 224 pages it makes it a great book for when your feeling like a quick light read. This book feels like a story story that has been expanded and very well written at that.

I love women who write horror and Shirley Jackson is a wonderful writer. Here is a tid bit about the early 20th century author from amazon:

"Shirley Jackson was born in San Francisco in 1919. She first received wide critical acclaim for her short story 'The Lottery', which was published in 1948. Her novels--which include The Sundial, The Bird's Nest, Hangsaman, The Road through the Wall, We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Haunting of Hill House--are characterized by her use of realistic settings for tales that often involve elements of horror and the occult."

All and all I enjoyed this macabre tale, for its portrayal of fear, resentment, hostility and persecution of its disturbed and damaged characters. Also the cover art is awesome!