The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

I'd seen The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson in bookstores for awhile now.  I suppose it was highly profiled because there was a film made of it, and because the third book in the trilogy was being released.   I was interested in it, but didn't really know much about it, so I never gave it a try.

A couple of weeks ago, I was lent a copy of it from a friend's mom. 

OH MY GOD.

WHAT A GOOD BOOK!

I just finished reading it, right now, and am ITCHING to go buy the sequel.  It's a story that takes place in Sweden, and features quite a large cast of characters that at first makes it just a touch confusing until you get to the point where the real plot starts to come into play.  Others have said that they found the book dull at first and tough to get into, however I didn't think the same and enjoyed it right from the beginning.

The main characters are instantly likeable.  Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist who has been sued for libel and found guilty, is hired by a wealthy man (Henrik Vanger) to solve the mystery of his missing niece -- who disappeared forty years ago, in a case that went unsolved but that was suspected to be a murder.  Blomkvist gets wrapped up in the case, which he doesn't expect to solve, and intrigue and suspense carries on from there.

There are twists and turns as you dive deeper into the history of the Vanger family, and into Blomkvist's quest to clear his name following the libel conviction.  He teams up with Lisbeth Salander, a young woman with a troubled past and expert investigative skills, who is a character that I think we'll learn even more about in the sequels to this book.

If you haven't read it yet, and you like some mystery and suspense, I highly recommend The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

I'm not sure how the movie is, but I might watch it just to compare it to the book.

----
Edited:  Okay, upon some research, I think I understand the movie thing a little more.  Looks like there were Swedish movies made about all three books in this series; but in 2011, a Hollywood version is coming out.  I really didn't know much about this series before being loaned this book two weeks ago, haha... but I knew some movie was already on TMN.  Must be the Swedish version!  I'll give it a try.

Way Overdue Reading Update

I've neglected my reading blog for far too long... partially because, I've been neglecting reading.  In September, I had a huge change in my personal life (which, if you read my main blog, you already have heard way too much about, I'm sure), and it really threw me off.  The only thing I read after that was a quick re-read of the first Twilight book (I needed something absolutely mindless, and in a way, comforting in its familiarity and easy-readability), and then I took a bit of a break from reading novels.  I was also very busy with teaching my new grade one class, and with taking an online course, which has just ended.

I have read 10 books since my last blog post in July though... yes, I made it to 39 books this year.  I'm just finishing up book 40.  I don't think I would have been able to make it to 100, regardless of what happened in September, but I probably would have made it past 50 had I been my usual self, which would have been pretty cool.

As it is, I scrapped my ENTIRE "101 things to do in 1001 Days" because way too much of it involved the relationship-that-is-no-more, so I scrapped the "read 100 books" goal too.  Next year I'll maybe try a new reading goal, 100 books was TOO MUCH. haha.

Anyway, here's what I've read since July, just in list-form, with no reviews:

30) An Ideal Wife by Gemma Townley
31) Second Prize by Chris Manby
32) Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin
33) How Nancy Drew Saved My Life by Lauren Barantz-Logsted
34) Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
35) It's About Your Husband by Lauren Lipton
36) Welcome to the Real World by Carole Matthews
37) English as a Second Language by Megan Crane
38) Mini-Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
39) read-read of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

I'm going to document how many books I've read up until New Years Eve... but honestly, what I went through in September really changed things for me.  However, no more neglecting this blog, that's for sure!

26, 27, 28, 29) Four Completely Different Books -- just read this.

Haven't been updating lately, but have done a little reading.  Not nearly enough for the challenge I've set for myself, but considering I read about 7 books over the March Break this year I'm hoping I can catch up over these two summer months off from work (well, off from teaching -- I have a nannying job, but I'll still have plenty of time for reading in between my nannying hours).  Anyway, here are some of the books I read but didn't blog about!

26) Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
This is the fourth book in Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians YA series.  I love this series, A LOT, and really enjoyed reading this installment.  Percy and his friends find themselves on a new quest -- into the Labyrinth, to stop Luke from raising Kronos and taking over Camp Halfblood, and eventually Olympus.  It's got lots of adventure and fun, and it really sets things up for the conclusion of the series (or, what I'm fairly certain is the conclusion -- book five, The Last Olympian, which Scooter and I haven't bought to read yet).  If you haven't given these books a try, but you like books such as Harry Potter, I'd definitely read them.

27) Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse #9) by Charlaine Harris
I am so cheap and refuse to buy these books hardcover, so I only just now finally read the ninth Sookie Stackhouse novel; number ten is already on bookshelves but it's still hardcover itself so I'll be waiting until next spring for that one too.  Book 9 was another great Sookie story, and I'm in love with these characters.  I also watch the television series, "True Blood" (which is probably what helps me be able to wait to read the new books in soft-cover, it sort of bridges the gap by having a TV Sookie in my life).

28) Angels by Marian Keyes
I am a huge fan of Keyes' Walsh family.  I've read these books completely out of order, but have read three of the four books that each feature a different Walsh sister (I read Rachel's Holiday first, then read Is Anybody Out There? which is Anna's story, and then read Angels, which about Maggie Walsh and comes before either of the other two I read -- the only one I haven't read yet is Watermelon, which is Claire's story and is actually the FIRST of the Walsh sister's books).  The good thing is?  It doesn't really matter TOO much if you read them out of order, as I've found.  I'm eagerly waiting for Helen, the youngest of the Walsh sisters, to have a book featured about her soon too (since I'm sure it's inevitable).  My favourite of these books is Anna's story (Is Anybody Out There?), but any of them so far have been great.

29) Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA by Ellen Meister
I picked this up off of the 80%-off shelf at Chapters (a frequent place for my book-buying, since $4.99 is a sweet price for a novel).  It was actually not bad, a good beside-the-pool read.  The characters are all going through some relationship issues, and there are some affairs/potential affairs/weird moments, but it wasn't a bad story and it had nice pacing.  The characters were likeable enough -- if a little sex-obsessed at times.

Alrighty, 29 down and ... oh.. hmm.. you know, only 71 books left to read this year.  HA. HA HA HA. /crying on the inside.

25) A Hollywood Ending by Robyn Sisman

I've picked up a bunch of chick-lit books on sale at Chapters recently, in an effort to read some light stuff by my pool and speed up my "number of books read" as much as I can... haha. The first one I tried was called A Hollywood Ending, by author Robyn Sisman.

This story is about Paige Carson, famous movie star, who is dissatisfied with how things are going in Hollywood and with how she's beginning to be viewed as a bratty star.  She takes off to London to perform Shakespeare on stage in order to combat her reputation and remember the reason she became an actress in the first place.

Oh, but before you get to that you have page after page of not-so-great-but-also-not-that-exciting things happen to Paige back in Los Angeles.

When the book switches to England, we somethings get the story from the perspective of Ed, Paige's landlord who is trying very hard to be unimpressed with "The Paige Carson" living upstairs -- he thinks she's a snobby Hollywood type, so he sets out to have nothing to do with her.

Things happen, there's a romance, there's a 'misunderstanding that nearly wrecks the whole romance', then next thing you know the book is done.

This wasn't the worst random chick-lit I've ever read.  I liked the characters well enough.  I did find the ending to be a little short with some stuff left up in the air (such as how her performance in As You Like It actually goes, and whether or not she is well-received again back in L.A.).  I felt like the beginning of the book before Paige gets to England dragged on a bit, and my favourite parts of the book were when Ed and Paige were getting to know each other a little and realizing they were wrongly judging one another's behaviours -- but that was only a few scenes, I could have had a little more of that to keep up the romance side of the story.

It wasn't bad, it wasn't fabulous, but it certainly was just the right type of light, lounge-by-the-pool reading that I was searching for.

25 down, 75 to go!

21-24) The Vampire Diaries by LJ Smith

I have been really enjoying the new TV series "The Vampire Diaries".  I knew that the show was based on Young Adult novels of the same name written by LJ Smith, but I hadn't read the books yet.  I decided to give them a try, and borrowed the first two novels (which were combined into one volume) from Martin's sister.  The first two stories are The Awakening and The Struggle, the second two are The Fury and Dark Reunion.

These books are dramatically different that the TV series.  The TV series is also a hundred times better.  There are extra characters in the books who aren't on the show, and there are characters on the show who aren't in the books.  The first couple of books are sort of boring, and I didn't really understand the motivation behind some of the actions of the characters -- it was too forced with no explanations.  The second two stories, once the characters were more established and there was some action, were much better.

At the bookstore the other day I noticed there are more books in this series, which I think were written a little later than these original four stories, and I do feel like I would like to read them too.  However, I'm really glad the TV series is what it is -- the characters are much better explained, I love the backstory they provide, and the characters they've added who are not a part of the books are really layered and interesting.

These books are pretty similar to the Twilight books, which were written many years later than these ones, but the Twilight books are actually a much better read.

At least I knocked four books out of the park in a fairly short time span!

24 read, 76 to go!  I know I'm way behind where I should be, but have faith...

20) Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

I teach the first grade and I wanted to read them a novel, as time-filler and to get them used to the idea of not always having pictures to look at in the books they read.  I chose the classic story Charlotte's Web by E.B. White.  I'm counting this as one of my 100 novels read this year, since I did read it in its entirety and if I didn't count things like this I'd surely never get through this challenge! haha.

It's the classic story of Wilbur the pig, who is rescued by Fern and then raised in Zuckerman's barn.  He befriends a spider named Charlotte, who uses her miraculous web-spinning powers to write words in her web to encourage Mr. Zuckerman to view Wilbur as "some pig!" in order to save Wilbur from being turned into bacon.  The kids loved the story, and after we finished we watched the 2006 live-action film version of the book starring Dakota Fanning.  It was also well-received.

A very classic children's tale, and book 20 in my quest to read 100 books in 2010.

19) Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich

A few weeks ago I finally finished catching up on all of the Stephanie Plum novels released so far by Janet Evanovich!  Plum Spooky, one of those "between-the-numbers" novels was the last one I had to read.  I enjoyed it much better than all of the other between-the-numbers books, but my favourite stories in this series are mostly just the regular numbered Stephanie Plum mysteries.  Book 16 comes out this year, so I'll take it out from the library as soon as I can.  I plan on staying caught up with each new release, and I'm certainly very glad Janet is continuing to write more stories in this series.  I love these characters A LOT.

I'm still reading, just slowly!  Ugh!

19 down, 81 to go!

18) The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

I'm still enjoying the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan.  I've just finished Book #3, The Titan's Curse.  This one was a really great adventure, I liked it better than Book #2 (Sea of Monsters).  I know I'm slightly older than the target audience for this series, but I really enjoy the storyline and I highly recommend it.  I just liken it to adults enjoying the Harry Potter series when it first came out -- it really is a good story for all ages.  Scooter just finished reading Book #4, so I'll soon read that one as well.

18 down, 82 to go!

17) Thanks For The Memories by Cecelia Ahern

I've read a couple of Cecelia Ahern novels now, and I'm finding I quite enjoy her writing.  Thanks for the Memories is about two main characters - Irish Joyce and American Justin.  Justin, somewhat against his own will, donates blood during a blood drive at an Irish University where he has been guest lecturing.  Joyce, after a terrible accident, receives a blood transfusion.

Along with that, Joyce receives a batch of memories that are not her own.

Joyce and Justin have a strange connection, and randomly see each other at times in the book, not understanding what role they really play in each other's lives.  The pacing of the story is good, and Joyce's elderly father adds a nice touch of family and humour to the tale.

If you've enjoyed Cecelia's writing as I have, having additionally read PS, I Love You and Where Rainbows End (alternate title: Love, Rosie), I definitely recommend you read Thanks for the Memories.

17 down! 83 to go!

16) Finger-Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich

I skipped over one of the "between the numbers" books because they didn't have it at my library at the time, but other than that one book, I'm completely caught up on my Stephanie Plum stories!  Fortunately the sixteenth book comes out this summer!  I love these novels and I'm so glad I read them, and I'll miss spending so much time with Stephanie Plum and her crazy friends and family.

Finger-Lickin' Fifteen was a great story, like all the others.  I can't get enough of this series, seriously!

16 down, 84 to go!

15) Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich

Another Stephanie Plum, I'm nearly caught up on the series.  I finished Fearless Fourteen last weekend, but didn't have the time to write it up yet.  It was really good, I liked this story a lot and it made me laugh out loud.

Katherine Hiegl is apparently signed on to play Stephanie Plum in the first feature film of these books (so, a film version of the first book "One for the Money").  Not sure how I feel about it, but she's already dyed her hair brown to try to win over fans -- her showing a bit of dedication to the role made me feel a little better about her being cast.  I'm just not sure she's who I was picturing as Stephanie.

15 down!  85 to go!

14) The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

I'm a huge Nicholas Sparks fan, and The Last Song did not disappoint.  I was, I will admit, hesitant when it came to starting this one, but once I finally opened it up I read it in a day.  I couldn't even get to sleep last night until I turned the final page.

Why was I hesitant?  Well.  I've been seeing the trailers for the film version, and unfortunately the image of Miley Cyrus as the main character, Ronnie, threw me off.  I'm just not a big fan of Miley.  Nicholas Sparks actually wrote the screenplay for the film before he wrote this novel, specifically for Miley Cyrus to be in the film.  It was just not doing it for me.

Once I got over that though, as I just said - I could. not. put. this. novel. down. 

Some people say that Nicholas Sparks is "predictable" -- but I bet those people don't actually read Nicholas Sparks.  Sure, he has a bit of a formula with his stories (yes, they will take place in North Carolina, and there will be some sort of love story), but I find that each of his novels has a uniqueness to it as well that makes me love them all for various reasons.  His characters are individuals, they aren't cookie-cutter characters.  You also never know if his story will have a "and they lived happily ever after" or end in utter tragedy.

I love his writing.

Read The Last Song, especially if you're already a Nicholas Sparks fan.  Don't let Miley deter you. ;-)

(Also, I will so see the movie, regardless of Miley.  I love Greg Kinnear and I do think the film version will be great).

14 down, 86 to go!

13) Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich

*giggle* *snort* *hardy-har-har*

Sorry, excuse me, I'm just having a little laugh over the fact that my 13th book of 2010 was one called Plum Lucky.  I didn't connect those two things before writing my post title.  *giggles again*

Oh! AND, I'm adding it to my blog ON St. Patrick's Day, and it's a St. Patrick's Day related novel!

Ahem.

So!  13 down!  This was another Stephanie Plum "between-the-numbers" novel, and it was probably my favourite of the between-the-numbers that I've read so far.  It had less of the silly supernatural to it, and more of an interesting case.  I'm heading off to the library today to pick up the next three books in the series, which should completely catch me up until new Stephanie Plum books are written by the ever-so-great Janet Evanovich (and I do think 16 is coming out this year, very soon, in fact!).

13 down, 87 to go!  This "March Break" thing has been great for my reading challenge... I'm going to keep pushing myself this week, see how far I can get!  It is only Wednesday after all!

12) The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

The Tale of Despereaux is a children's novel, for ages 7-12, but I read it because I'm planning on reading a novel to my grade one class starting after March Break, and this was the novel they voted for.

However, I've decided I'm going to have to overrule their votes, and choose something else.

This story is just a little too "doom and gloom" for grade one kids.  It's the story of a little mouse, the only one to survive his litter, to a family who doesn't really believe he'll live long anyway.  He can read, and he falls in love with a story of a knight and a princess -- only to later come across Princess Pea who lives in the castle he calls home.  He falls in love with Princess Pea, but is banished to the dungeon so the rats can kill him because he broke the number one mouse rule -- do not be seen by the humans.

It continues on gloomily from there.  There's a creepy jailer in the dungeon who helps Despereaux, but there are some other characters who are pretty evil -- the rat, Roscuro, and the little girl Miggery Sow with the "cauliflower ears" she developed from years of abuse.

Yeah.  So not something I'm going to read to my going-on-seven-years-old students.  I thought it was going to be a fun little adventure novel -- nope.  It is the winner of the John Newberry Medal for American Literature for Children, but it's just not something I want to read to my class.

I think instead we'll read Charlotte's Web, it has its sad moments but it's a little more appropriate for this grade.

12 down, 88 to go!

The Classics: Which Ones Are Actually Good Reads?

I've made myself a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days, and as a part of that list I decided that I'd like to read 5 'classic' novels.  Novels like Pride & Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre etc.  The only thing is -- I'm not sure which classic novels I should try!  I'm worried that they'll be very tedious and dull and that I'll take ages to get through them.

So tell me!  Which "classic" novels do you actually enjoy?  Which ones should I read?

Thanks for any suggestions offered!

11) Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich

Oh, Stephanie Plum.  I will be so sad when I catch up completely and don't have any new adventures of yours to read.  Fortunately, Janet Evanovich is still actively writing this series.

Lean Mean Thirteen -- more Stephanie Plum, Bounty Hunter awesomeness.  Read this series if you don't already.  It. Is. Candy.

11 down, 89 to go!

10) Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich

I'm still on my Stephanie Plum kick.  I've just finished Plum Lovin', which is one of the "Between-the-Numbers" novels, and follows book 12.  The Between-the-Numbers books are very short little stories that all seem to be about a particular holiday (the first one was a Christmas story, this one was at Valentine's Day).  They seem to follow the theme of a strange guy named Diesel showing up, needing Stephanie's help on a case -- hilarity and trouble ensues.

I don't like them quite as much as the regular Stephanie Plum mysteries (which are all the 'numbered' titles -- "One for the Money", "Two for the Dough", "Three to Get Deadly", etc etc up to "Finger Lickin' Fifteen" so far).  They have a supernatural element to them which I think is supposed to be jokey, but it sort of takes away from the fact that the Stephanie Plum books aren't usually quite so silly as to have any supernatural elements. So, I don't know.  That part sort of bothers me, but if you just take them for some mindless entertainment and a little extra time with Stephanie Plum, then they're okay.

10 books in 2010 so far!  This is my 'March Break' from school, I'm hoping to be a reading machine, otherwise I'll never make it to 100 in a year!  90 more to go!

9) The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

Having enjoyed the young adult novel, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, I've decided to continue to read the series.  My 11-year-old brother is reading the books first, then he passes them to me.  It's quite an enjoyable series -- I think anyone who likes Harry Potter or similar would enjoy these stories.  They're also full of Greek Mythology references, which I enjoy because I love Greek Mythology.

The film version of The Lightning Thief was also pretty good.  I took Scooter to see it last week.  It was different than the book -- an example being that Percy and Annabeth were clearly high school aged teenagers in the movie, but in the book they`re only in the sixth grade -- but it had enough details to keep the story on track enough that it didn`t feel overly changed.  Sure, there were missing characters and a few different locations of some of the events, but mostly it was pretty good.  I`d continue to see the films if they continue to make them.

This second story in the series, The Sea of Monsters, finds Percy and Annabeth on another perilous adventure -- this time to the Sea of Monsters to face a Cyclops and attempt to rescue Grover and obtain the Golden Fleece.  It`s a good little adventure.  I liked the first book just a bit more than this one, but this one has a great twist ending that should make book three pretty interesting.

It`s a good series, definitely check it out if you were a Harry Potter fan or sometimes like reading some of the novels that are written for the younger crowd, but are still entertaining for adults.  If you have a kids in your family, ages 10 or so and up, I definitely recommend these books.

9 down, 91 to go!

8) Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich

Oh hai -- that's right, I'm back already!  I actually finished this book between Saturday night and Sunday afternoon -- like I just said, these books are like candy.

I think "Twelve Sharp" is one of my favourites in the entire series.  It had a great storyline, and just enough of the love triangle (which is a love triangle I actually really enjoy and don't find 'frustrating' like in other novels).

Again: read these novels!  They are laugh-out-loud funny, and so quick to read!

8 down, 92 to go!

7) Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich

Book Seven of "The Insane Reading Goal of 2010" was my next book to read in the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, "Eleven on Top".  I am loving these novels.  I practically read each one in one sitting -- and I'm determined to catch up to book 15, the most current book in the series, over the next few weeks.  You'll notice the next few books on my list may all include Stephanie Plum, the unlikely awesome bounty hunter.

Since I'm quite far in the series, I don't want to write a synopsis lest I give you spoilers!  All I can say is: read these books!  They're like candy, so fun and so funny!

7 down, 93 to go!

6) Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell

I love the TV series Sex and the City (I also loved the movie and am looking forward to its sequel).  I was never an obessed SaTC fan, I didn't even get really into it until the movie version came out prompting me to borrow a friend's DVD sets.  I've also never read the book.

Candace Bushnell, the author and creator of the Sex and the City world, is the author of my sixth finished novel in 2010 -- Lipstick Jungle. 

I really liked this book.

The story is of three best friends in New York City, who are all powerful ladies in their respective fields, and who are all in their early 40s.  They are each dealing with career and personal life problems, which are the thrust of the story.  It's a fun, girly read and I liked the characters.  It was a short-lived TV series, starring Brooke Shields, Lindsay Price, and Kim Raver as the title characters.  I've downloaded it to give it a try, having liked the book, so I'll see how it compares (although I guess it isn't nearly as good as SaTC was, since it was cancelled after only so many episodes).

I definitely recommend this book if you're into SaTC type of stories, and I know I'll be giving Candace Bushnell's other books a try too.

6 down, 94 to go.  I'm so far off of achieving 100 if I'm going statistical on it, but whatever, the challenge is on -- who knows what Reading Miracle I can pull off before the clock strikes 12 on December 31st!

5) Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

My reading progress has been very, very slow.  I think it'll start to pick up again though, I have faith, dear Blog readers.

My most recent read was Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.  I bought this book (or rather, Martin bought it for me) when I went to Martin's house for the weekend and realized I forgot to bring a novel with me (stooopid me!).  I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of "Wicked the Musical" to Toronto -- it comes in June of this year -- so I thought I'd give the book it's based off of a try.

The story is of Elphaba, who later becomes our Wicked Witch of the West.  It begins with her birth, then weaves through defining moments in her life that led to her eventual watery demise courtesy of that strange girl from Kansas and her "annoying little dog".  It paints an interesting picture with a fresh perspective on the original story.

This book was good, it really was.  I love "The Wizard of Oz" (the film, I've never actually read the book), and I love this perspective of that world.  My only complaint, though, was how WORDY this book was.  It took me so long to read it because it was full of character-after-character, description-after-description, location-after-location -- all with unique names and words to describe it.  You were really pushed into the land of Oz as a reader of this story, but I found myself disconnected at times while I sorted through all the WORDS.

I clearly like my novels to be way less "literary masterpiece-ish", so I can read them fast enough to get to 100 in a year, haha.  BRING ON TWILIGHT.

So, if you're interested in this world of Oz at all -- or if you're thinking of seeing the musical Wicked live on stage -- I do recommend this story.  Just be prepared, it isn't exactly a light read and it may take you awhile to get through it.  I did like it a lot though.

95 more... HA. HA. HA.

4) Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

I finished this last week but didn't have the opportunity to post before today.

BOOK FOUR!  FOUR! I read FOUR in January!  That's about... half of what I need to read each month, so I will need to play catch up later on.  Instead of worrying about that though, let me tell you about this really awesome book.

So, I read Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book One: The Lightning Thief which is by Rick Riordan.  I bought this book for my 11-year-old brother for Christmas, knowing that he likes the Harry Potter series (which we've been reading together over the past few years -- yes, years, our schedules don't always line up for reading together, haha) and other adventure stories too.  I also knew that a film version was coming out soon, so I figured we could see the movie together if he liked the book.

Needless to say, he LOVED the book.  So much so that he read it in a week's time at school (that's pretty fast for him), and he asked me to take him to Chapters to buy Book 2 in the series (with his own money, he's growing up so fast!).  This is a kid who likes reading but isn't necessarily the type to ask to go to the book store, so the book definitely left a great impression on him.

He made sure to pass the book to me next, and I also really enjoyed it.  I've always liked Greek Mythology, so the subject matter appealed to me from the outset, and it was a good little adventure.  The characters are likeable, and I also look forward to reading the rest of the series.

This is a Young Adult series, probably meant for 8-12 year-olds, but like Harry Potter or the Twilight series, it is definitely fun for adults too.  I think both young boys and girls will enjoy this book, but especially if you have a son and you're looking for a new series for him to enjoy, I recommend this one.  I'm looking forward to taking Scooter to the theatre for the film adaptation, and will review the movie too once I see it.

The Lightning Thief is available online on Amazon.ca.

4 down, 96 to go!

3) Three Bedrooms, One Corpse by Charlaine Harris

I know exactly what you're thinking -- BOOK THREE!  ALREADY?! SHE'S AMAZING!

You'd be right. I am amazing.  In so very many ways. 

However, I did not quickly whip through an entire book in one night (not that I've never done that before, because I HAVE)(See above -- I can be amazing).  In truth, I was already reading this book on the side when I was reading The Lost Symbol and Swapping Lives.  Also, it's a small novel.

Book three of my "100 Books in 2010" Challenge is Charlaine Harris' Three Bedrooms, One Corpse.  This is the third book in her Aurora Teagarden Mystery series.  I've read all of the Sookie Stackhouse books (save for book 9, the newest one, as I'm waiting for it to be in paperback), so I thought I'd give some of Charlaine's other books a go.  The first Aurora Teagarden book (Real Murders) was at my local bookstore, so I bought it.  Quite liked it, so I moved on to book two (A Bone to Pick).  Liked that as well, so I decided to continue with the series.

I have to say though, this particular book was more dull than the first two.  The mystery was a good one, yet the middle section of the book dragged on without the mystery really being too prominent.  A few more twists and turns would have improved the storyline.  I do like the main character, however, and am starting to get into this world, so I am definitely going to continue with the series.  I'm just not in that much of a hurry with it, and probably won't read book four for a little while.

If you're looking for light reads with a touch of mystery and murder, I do recommend the Aurora Teagarden series by Charlaine Harris -- although personally I like the Sookie Stackhouse series better (I'm a vampire fiction fan, and I like the TV series "True Blood" which is based off of the Sookie series).

3 down, 97 to go!

What I'm Reading Next (Yes, Two at a Time Again):

Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell -- another book borrowed from Melanie; I've never read any Candace Bushnell books before, but was a fan of the Sex and the City TV series of course.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan -- I gave this to my 11-year-old brother for Christmas, he LOVED IT, so now I'm reading it so that I can take him to the movie when it comes out in February (he said, "Estie!" that's what he's called me from when he was a baby, lol "Estie! Read this book, you'll really like it!", so I'm reading it!)

2) Swapping Lives by Jane Green

Swapping Lives is the first Jane Green novel I've ever read, and I do think I'd read more of her books (if anyone recommends any particular titles, let me know!).  I borrowed this book from my friend Mel.  It's a chick-lit, which is what I enjoy (I like the escape they provide).  It wasn't the greatest book I've ever read, but if you take it for what it is, it's a fine enough read.

The premise is of a single girl in London named Vicky who works for Poise! magazine swapping lives with a married American woman named Amber -- to see what it's like to be married with children, and to provide a married woman a chance to relive single life.  For the title being "Swapping Lives", it wasn't until quite late into the novel that the characters actually swapped; and even then, it didn't go on for too much of the story.  Instead, the story focuses more on the situations that lead the girls to swap; and then wraps up with the lessons they learned about appreciating what they had.

The book wasn't thrilling, but it was a nice enough story.  In my copy I did find a couple of errors -- a few times where it said "Vicky" but it was clearly "Amber" speaking, so that was a bit distracting (for whatever reason, finding errors in novels happens to me a lot).  This is definitely a good one to borrow from a friend or take out from your local library.

2 down, 98 to go! *facepalm*

Movie Review: The Lovely Bones

I have been waiting for the screen version of The Lovely Bones for YEARS.  I read the book about three years ago, I think, and the film had already been announced and I think most of the cast members had been chosen.  The original release date for it was a year ago, I believe -- then they kept pushing it back.  Finally, finally it came out in theatres en masse as of January 15th.  Friday night I was able to convince (didn't take much) Steph2 to accompany me to finally see it myself.

Sometimes when I see a film adaptation of a favourite book, I'm disappointed.  Sometimes greatly disappointed, to the point of needing to offer suggetions to filmmakers.  With The Lovely Bones, I'm so happy to report, this was not the case for me.

Were there changes from the plot?  Yes.  There were.  Some things happened out-of-order, some things were left out completely.  A few main characters became minor, a few characters were non-existent.  However, I don't think it detracted from the story.  I think the story was told on screen in a way that did still stay true to the story in the book.

***Minor Spoiler Warning: Plot Spoilers Follow***

The main thrust of The Lovely Bones is of Susie's family coping with their loss of Susie, especially her father and sister, Lindsey.  It is also mostly about Susie in the 'in-between' as she tries to stay connected to her family back on Earth and help her killer be caught.  This is what the movie held true to; Susie and the 'in-between', Susie's father's struggle. 

The special effects in the 'in-between' were stunning.  I don't think they were too much -- it was supposed to be a fantastical place, Susie's own perfect world -- and at 14, her idea of perfect might be over-the-top.  The acting was also great -- I think they cast each character very well, especially Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon.  Some of the best moments were when Susie is speaking lines directly from Alice Sebold's novel; it was exactly as I imagined Susie speaking it when reading the pages myself.  Also, some of the 'missing moments' from the book (especially more about Lindsey as a character, for example) are filled in via Mr. Harvey looking at news clippings.

What I found most pleased me was the overall feeling I got as I watched the film.  Sometimes when I was a film adaptation of a novel I've enjoyed, I have a sort of "empty" feeling inside -- I can really feel those missing parts, and I don't connect to the characters/story as well as I think I should.  With this film, I didn't have that feeling.  I was engaged throughout the entire movie, and felt it told its story in a very full way, even if slightly differently from the original story (it's really not that different, as per usual some of the details are left out, but not enough to ruin it as a film).

I've read that some people were not fans of this film, but I found it to be an excellent adaptation, and no less than I would have expected from Peter Jackson -- the man certainly knows how to adapt books into movies; and I'm not even much of a Lord of the Rings fan.

So I recommend The Lovely Bones, but with a word of caution: although I did enjoy it a lot, I have heard from others who did not like it.  I think it is a film you should judge for yourself.  I definitely recommend this novel to those who have not read it (although it is deeply sad at times, and I think parents would definitely find it a hard read -- it is beautifully written nontheless).

1) The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

I did it!  I've finished ONE BOOK in 2010!  Onward to the next 99!  (OY VEY).

Funny/cute story -- Martin's adorable Polish 'Babcia' (grandmother) constantly said, "Oy yay! Oy yay!" in like, a really sad sort of tone when she was waxing poetic about the great sadnesses and such (all in Polish, Martin had to translate and sometimes he just looked at me and shrugged).  Anyway!  So now Martin and I are always like, "Oy yay, oy yay" when we're feeling 'great sadness' OR when we're reminiscing about visiting Babcia. 

100 books in a year!  OY YAY!, OY YAY!

The first book I read was The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown.  I'm a Dan Brown fan, I am.  However, my favourite books of his are his more stand-alone novels - Digital Fortress and Deception Point.  Angels & Demons is still my favourite Robert Langdon story.  With The Lost Symbol, I found myself feeling how I did when I was reading The Da Vinci Code.  It took me a long time to get into it, some of the way-too-many-details-about-this-and-that-and-this-person distracted me too much from feeling any suspense, and I just didn't get so into it (his other books I'd gobble up in a couple days, flat, however and felt much more captivated and shocked by the twists and turns).

Was it a good book?  Yes.  He's a great writer, there's no doubt.  However, even with a fairly alright twist near the end, it still doesn't rank as my favourite of his stories.  Also, it's very religion-based as most of his Robert Langdon books are, and I just wasn't feeling it.  The big ending was very anti-climactic in my, very humble, opinion.

It wasn't horrible, so if you've previously liked Dan Brown's novels, then definitely give it a read and see for yourself how you feel.  I'm filing this one under "Library It", because that's sort of my middle-of-the-road option (otherwise I just 'recommend' a book or say 'avoid').  I just wasn't personally gripped by this one.  I'd love some more stand-alone thrillers like Digital Fortress or Deception Point from Dan Brown in the future.

One down, ninety-nine to go!

100 Books in 2010 - Status Update

To read 100 books in 1 year, I need to read 8.3 books per month.

EIGHT books per month at the very least.  Approximately 2 books per week.

I figure that in July and August I'll hit that number no problem, and maybe be able to catch up a bit on any missed months.  I don't want to leave this until the second half of the year and suddenly freak out that I didn't keep up with my goal, so I need to take a very firm approach -- and yet, I still want to enjoy reading.

It's January 11th, and I've yet to add one book to my Read list.  However, I'm about halfway through two books -- so if I can get them both finished this week; and make some headway into a third, at least I'll be somewhere.

I'm not sure I'll make the 8.3 for January, but I'll push myself a bit to see how much I can read before the month is over.

My Personal Reading Challenge 2010

Okay, I don't get a lot of readers to this Blog, so I didn't have much input about my Reading Challenge (not surprising at all).  Perhaps one day this site will grow, but no worries, I also keep this Blog for me and for my own record of what I'm reading and my opinions.  Thanks to Brandie though for her input, I really appreciate it!

Brandie mentioned that she has tried the "Read 100 Books" challenge, and that it WAS a challenge.  I imagine it is, considering how much that pesky thing called "life" gets in the way of reading (TSK! TSK! Isn't that SO disappointing?!).  However, I'm mulling it over and you know what?  I'm going to try it.  I might not be able to accomplish it, but I've never given it a shot before.  Also, if there was ever a year to try to read 100 books, 2010 might be it.  I'm not in school anymore and my course is finishing this week, which means there's no homework in my way.  I don't currently have a full-time teaching job, and supply work doesn't leave you with planning and such in the evenings, I also don't have a husband or children yet and still live separately from Martin... I just think it might be the right time to take on this particular challenge.  I may have even read close to 100 books in 2009; I didn't keep track in a strict enough way to know for sure.

So without further ado, I introduce my first ever Reading Challenge: "Read 100 Books in 2010".

I'll update my Blog with each book I read.  My first book in the challenge will be The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, as I've really only just started it.  Let's see if I can hit the magic 100 -- and if I can't, at least I gave it my all!

My two personal rules for my challenge:

1) I can count ANY novel-type book I read in full; this can include any genre, fiction or non-fiction (so a professional text will count if read in full).

2) I can include any re-reads of novels from the past.  I tend to re-read favourite novels now and then, and I don't want to have to go through a whole year without doing this because of trying to reach my quota of 100 "New" Books.  It's just 100 Books, whatever they are.

Thanks, Brandie, for the idea!