march readings

The Good Earth – Pearl S. Buck

Nice, clean, crisp classic.  I had a Penquin copy that was published in 1961 and the retail value for this book was 50 cents if you can believe that. 

I am curious as to the location used in this story, it sounds like somewhere north of the Great Wall and Mongolia based on the fact the family travelled south and worked in the small city on the north side of the wall.  There was no mentioning of passing through the wall so I am wondering where along the Great Wall this took place.

My final recommendation : Five out of Five

A Man Named Dave - Dave Pelzer

Riveting book, I don’t know which one is more tougher to read, April Fool’s Day or the Pelzer three book series, A Child Called It, The Lost Boy, and A Man Named Daved.  Both are true stories written in the first-person so it is written very well. Better than some of the cheap dime novel authors like Grisham for example.

My Final Recommendation – 4 out of 5 stars

Endurance : Shackelton’s Incredible Voyage - Alfred Lansing

This is a fun read, for those who like to read about insane survival in extreme weather conditions with far from modern-day equipments.

My Final Recommendation – 4 out of 5 stars

The Glass Castle

Very nice read written by the author of the story herself.  Quite entertaining despite the hardship the family endured. 

My final recommendation – 3 out of 5 stars

books in the year 2007

This will be my posting for books I have read this year.  In bold will be a description about why or when I am reading it such as in progress, completed, or I have the book but have not started it yet.  See my posting, books in my lifetime for a more comphrensive list. 

1. The Patron Saint of Red Chevys – Kay Sloan  finished in february
2. Lisey’s Story – Stephen King  finished in february
3. The Richest Man in Babylon – George S Clason 2nd reading in progress
4. The Good Earth – Pearl S. Buck finished in March 
5. Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship – Jon Meacham  In Progress
6. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies – Jared Diamond In Progress
7. Endurance – finished in March
8. The Glass Castle - finished in March
9. The Bonesetter’s Daugher – finished in April
10. The Partner – finished in May
11. A Time of War – finished in May

name this book

help! i need to put a name to this book so I can add it to my list. 

I can’t remember the name of this book I read in 9th grade, it was about a pair of friends [boys] who attended a private school.  the plot included a friend suffering a nasty fall by the river, one of the boys going off to war with the winter stormtroopers who skied.  for some reason the private school sounded like it was in CT.  this is a classic book and for the life of me the title escapes me but it seemed to have seasons in the title???

 i am sure one of you out there have read this book.

books in my lifetime

updated 2/21/07 [dang list keeps growing] 

I came across a blog listing books to read and thought I create one listing books I have read in my lifetime.  [This is in no particular order as I will expand it as I remember other books over the years as well as future books.]

1. Lisey’s Story – Stephen King
2. Salem’s Lot – Stephen King
3. In the Time of Butterflies – Julia Alverez Recommended
4. The Farming of Bones – Edwidge Danticat Recommended
5. The Cat in the Hat – Dr. Seuss Recommended
6. Lorax – Dr. Seuss
7. Dr. Suess’s ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book – Dr. Suess
8. Green Eggs and Ham – Dr. Suess
9. Oh, the Places You’ll Go – Dr. Suess
10. How the Grinch Stole Christmas – Dr. Suess
11. The Shining – Stephen King Recommended
12. Cujo – Stephen King Recommended
13. Love in the Time of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
14. The World’s Religions – Huston Smith
15. Jonathan Livingston Seagull – Richard Bach Recommended
16. April Fool’s Day – Bryce Courtenay Recommended
17. Power of One – Bryce Courtenay Recommended
18. On Writing – Stephen King
19. The Parable of the Pipeline – Burke Hedges
20. The Richest Man in Babylon – George S. Clason
21. Desperation – Stephen King
22. Bags of Bones – Stephen King
23. The Negative – Ansel Adams
24. All Quiet on the Western Front – Erich Maria Remarque Recommended
25. Night – Elie Wiesel Recommended
26. My Brother Sam Is Dead – James Lincoln Collier Recommened
27. An Army at Dawn: The War in Africa – Rick Atkinson
28. Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae – Steven Pressfield Recommended
29. Angles & Demons – Dan Brown Recommended
30. The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
31. Wolves of Calla – Stephen King
32. It – Stephen King
33. Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill
34. The Stand – Stephen King
35. The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three – Stephen King
36. Everything’s Eventual – Stephen King
37. Song of Susannah – Stephen King
38. Are You My Mother? – P.D. Eastman
39. The Cube: Keep the Secret – Anne Gottlieb & Slobadan D. Pesic Recommended
40. Pinkerton, Behave! – Steven Kellogg
41. A Rose for Pinkerton – Steven Kellogg
42. The Regulators – Stephen King and Richard Bachman
43. From a Buick 8 – Stephen King Recommended
44. My Side of the Mountain – Jean Craighead George Recommended
45. Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam – Bernard Edelman
46. Paddington Bear – Michael Bond
47. The Story of Babar: The Little Elephant – Jean de Brunhoff
48. The Travels of Babar – Jean de Brunhoff
49. Babar the King – Jean de Brunhoff
50. Seven Firefights in Vietnam – John A. Cash
51. Riding the Bullet – Stephen King
52. Flags of Our Fathers - James Bradley 
53. The Drawing of the Three – Stephen King
54. Four Past Midnight – Stephen King
55. Whiteout – Ken Follett
56. Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe Recommended
57. The Celestine Prophecy – James Redfield
58. The Tenth Insight: Holding the Vision – James Redfield
59. On the Road – Jack Kerouac Recommended
60. The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
61. East of Eden – John Steinbeck Recommended
62. Cannery Row – John Steinbeck
63. Tortilla Flat – John Steinbeck
64. Ramona Quimby – Beverly Cleary
65. Beezus and Ramona – Beverly Cleary
66. Sphere – Michael Crichton
67. Jurassic Park – Michael Crichton
68. April Morning – Howard Fast  Recommended
69. Ralph S. Mouse – Beverly Cleary
70. Runaway Ralph – Beverly Cleary
71. Ralph and the Motorcycle – Beverly Cleary Recommended
72. The Dark Tower – Stephen King
73. A Brief History of Time – Stephen Hawkins
74. The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho Recommended
75. By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept – Paulo Coelho
76. The Hardy Boys: The House on the Cliffs #2 – Franklin W. Dixon
77. The Hardy Boys: The Haunted Ford #44 – Franklin W. Dixon
78. The Hardy Boys: The Secret of the Caves # 7 – Franklin W. Dixon
79. The Hardy Boys: Mystery of Smugglers Cove #64 – Franklin W. Dixon
80. The Hardy Boys: The Shore Road Mystery #6 – Franklin W. Dixon
81. The Hardy Boys: The Clue in the Embers #35 – Franklin W. Dixon
82. The Hardy Boys: The Shattered Helmet #52 – Franklin W. Dixon 
83. The Hardy Boys: The Sinister Signpost #15 – Franklin W. Dixon
84. Catch 22 – Joseph Heller
85. Slaughterhouse 5 – Kurt Vonnegut Recommended
86. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Ken Kessey Recommended
87. Into the Wild – Jon Krakauer Recommended
88. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of Mt. Everest Disaster – Jon Krakauer 
89. Hop on Pop – Dr. Seuss Recommended
90. Fox in Socks – Dr. Seuss
91. Horton Hears a Who! – Dr. Seuss
92. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish – Dr. Seuss
93. Mutant Message Down Under – Marlo Morgan
94. In a Sunburned Country – Bill Bryson Recommended
95. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream – Hunter S. Thompson Recommended
96. Shadow Divers – Robert Kurson Recommended
97. The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini Recommended
98. The Great Brain – John D. Fitzgerald
99. More Adventures of the Great Brain – John D. Fitzgerald
100. The Great Brain at the Academy – John D. Fitzgerald
101. The Great Brain Reforms – John D. Fitzgerald
102. The Great Brain Does It Again – John D. Fitzgerald
103. The Return of the Great Brain – John D. Fitzgerald
104. What’s That Pig Outdoor?: A Memoir of Deafness - Henry Kisor  
105. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – J.K. Rowling
106. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K. Rowling
107. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J.K. Rowling
108. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – J.K. Rowling
109. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J.K. Rowling
110. Deception Point – Dan Brown
111. Dragon Tears – Dean Koontz
112. Watchers – Dean Koontz
113. Mr. Murder – Dean Koontz
114. The Door to December – Dean Koontz
115. The Perfect Storm – A True Story of Men Against the Sea – Sebastain Junger
116. The Lobster Chronicles: Life on a Very Small Island - Linda Greenlaw Recommended
117. The Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain’s Journey – Linda Greenlaw
118. Adrift: Seventy-six Days Lost at Sea – Steven Callahan Recommended
119. Lonesome Dove -  Larry McMurty
120. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail – Bill Bryson
121. The Call of the Wild – Jack London Recommended
122. Rich Dad Poor Dad: The Cashflow Quadrant – Robert Kiyosaki
123. Sales Dog: You Do Not Have to Be an Attack Dog to Be Successful in Sales – Blair Singer & Robert Kiyosaki
124. Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America – Erik Larson
125. Reef – Nora Roberts
126. Honest Illusions – Nora Roberts Recommended
127. The Tin Collectors – Stephen Cannell
128. Shane – Jack Schaefer Recommended
129. Hidden Prey – John Sandford
130. Night Prey – John Sandford
131. Mind Prey – John Sandford
132. Secret Prey – John Sandford
133. The ABC’s of Real Estate Investing: The Secrets of Finding Hidden Profits Most Investors Miss – Robert Kiyosaki & Ken McElroy
134. The Patron Saint of Red Chevys – Kay Sloan
135. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl
136. James and the Giant Peach – Roald Dahl
137. Fantanstic Mr. Fox – Roald Dahl
138. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator – Roald Dahl
139. In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex – Nathaniel Philbrick
140. Ahab’s Wife: or the Star-Gazer – Sena Jeter Naslund Recommended
141. The Brethen – John Grisham
142. The Last Juror – John Grisham
143. The Rainmaker – John Grisham
144. The Pelican Brief – John Grisham
145. The Client – John Grisham
146. The Green Mile – Stephen King
147. Cold Mountain – Charles Frazier
148. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon – Stephen King
149. Shoeless Joe – Ray Kinsella Recommended
150. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
151. Uncle Tom’s Cabin – Harriet Beecher Stowe Recommended
152. Tommyknockers – Stephen King
153. Insomina – Stephen King
154. The Langoliers – Stephen King
155. Captain’s Wife – Douglas Kelley
156. Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
157. Galilee – Clive Barker
158. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil – John Berendt
159. Hiding My Candy: The Autobiography of the Grand Empress of Savannah – Lady Chablis
160. The Legend of the Monk and the Merchant: Principles for Successful Living – Terry Felber
161. Curious George – H. A. Rey
162. Richard Scarry’s Best Word Book Ever – Richard Scarry
163. The Killer Angels – Michael Shaara Recommended
164. Alienist – Caleb Carr Recommended
165. The Angel of Darkness – Caleb Carr
166. Twillight Eyes – Dean Koontz
167. A Theif of Time – Tony Hillerman
168. Skinwalkers – Tony Hillerman
169. Mafia Princess: Growing up in Sam Giancana’s Family – Antoinette Giancana
170. The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to his White Mother – James McBride Recommended
171. A Light in the Attic – Shel Silverstein
172. Where the Sidewalk Ends – Shel Silverstein
173. Giving Tree – Shel Silverstein
174. Falling Up – Shel Silverstein
175. Deadspawn – Brian Lumley
176. Necroscope II: Vamphyri – Brian Lumley
177. Necroscope IV: Deadspeak – Brian Lumley
178. Necroscope III: The Source – Brian Lumley
179. Necroscope – Brian Lumley
180. The Last Aerie – Brian Lumley
181. The Secret of the Unicorn [Adventures of Tintin series]- Herge
182. Explorers on the Moon [Adventures of Tintin series]- Herge
183. Red Rackham’s Treasure [Adventures of Tintin series] – Herge
184. Christine – Stephen King
185. Thunder Point – Jack Higgins
186. Eye of the Storm – Jack Higgins
187. Empire of the Sun – J. G. Ballard
188. Chess for Dummies – James Eade
189. Personal Finance for Dummies – Eric Tyson
190. Marabou Stork Nightmares – Irvine Welsh
191. Night of the Fox – Jack Higgins
192. The Eagle Has Flown – Jack Higgins
193. Storm Warning – Jack Higgins
194. Jack and Jill – James Patterson
195. Pop Goes the Weasel – James Patterson
196. Along Came a Spider – James Patterson
197. Kiss the Girls – James Patterson
198. Flight 714 [Adventures of Tintin series] – Herge
199. The Seven Crystal Balls [Adventures of Tintin series] – Herge
200. Destination Moon [Adventures of Tintin series] – Herge
201. The Calculus Affair [Adventures of Tintin series] – Herge
202. Vineyard Blues: A Martha’s Vineyard Mystery - Philip Craig
203. A Vineyard Killing – Philip Craig 
204. Tintin in Tibet [Adventures of Tintin series] – Herge
205. Tintin and the Picaros [Adventures of Tintin series] – Herge
206. Land of Black Gold [Adventures of Tintin series] – Herge
207. Prisoners of the Sun [Adventures of Tintin series] – Herge
208. Tintin in America [Adventures of Tintin series] – Herge
209. The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway Recommended
210. A Farewell to Arms – Ernest Hemingway
211. Moveable Feast – Ernest Hemingway
212. The God of Small Things – Arundhati Roy Recommended
213. The Cost of Living – Arundhati Roy
214. The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver
215. The Samurai’s Garden – Gail Tsukiyama
216. Snow Falling on Cedars – David Guterson
217. The Shipping News – Annie Proulx Recommended
218. The Cider House Rules – John Irving
219. Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, an Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lesson
220. Rainbow Six – Tom Clancy
221. The Hunt for Red October – Tom Clancy
222. Red Storm Rising – Tom Clancy
223. Flight of the Intruder – Stephen Coonts
224. The Bourne Supremacy – Robert Ludlum
225. I Heard an Owl Call My Name – Margaret Craven
226. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler – E. L. Konigsburg
227. How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland’s Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medival Europe – Thomas Cahill Recommended
228. Needful Things – Stephen King
229. Dreamcatcher – Stephen King
230. Gerald’s Game – Stephen King
231. Night Shift – Stephen King
232. Pet Sementary – Stephen King
233. Rose Madder – Stephen King
234. Storm of the Century – Stephen King Recommended
235. Hearts in Atlantis – Stephen King
236. Dolores Clairborne – Stephen King
237. Human, All Too Human – Friedrich Nietzsche
238. The Twillight of the Idols – Friedrich Nietzsche
239. Discourse on Method and Meditations - Rene Descartes 
240. Silent Spring – Rachel Carson
241. Animal Farm – George Orwell
242. The Last of the Mohonicans – James Fenimore Cooper
243. A Child Called It – Dave Pelzer
244. The Lost Boy – Dave Pelzer
245. Mystic River – Dennis Lehane Recommended
246. Five Against the Sea – Ron Arias
247. Survive the Savage Sea – Dougal Robertson
248. Romeo and Juliet – Shakespeare
249. Lord of the Flies – Mary Hartley
250. The Town and The City – Jack Kerouac Recommended
251. The Red Balloon – Albert Lamorisse Recommended
252. Clifford the Big Red Dog – Norman Bridwell
253. The Incredible Journey – Shelia Every Burnford
254. The 101 Dalmatians – Dodie Smith
255. Pippi Longstocking – Astrid Lindgren
256. Pippi in the South Seas – Astrid Lindgren
257. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – Ian Fleming
258. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – Ian Fleming
259. Dance with Wolves – Michael Blake
260. The Known World – Edward P. Jones
261. Thorn Birds – Colleen McCullough
262. The Talisman – Stephen King and Peter Straub
263. The Black House – Stephen King and Peter Straub
264. Eye of the Dragon – Stephen King
265. The Plains of Passage – Jean M. Arel
266. The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne
267. Stones from the River – Ursula Hegi
268. The Joy Luck Club – Amy Tan
269. A Separate Peace – John Knowles
270. The Good Earth – Pearl S Buck
271. Make Way for Ducklings – Robert McCloskey
272. Homer Price – Robert McCloskey
273. Blueberry for Sal – Robert McCloskey

To be continued…..

Updated as of 2/21/07

february readings

The Patron Saint of Red Chevys by Kay Sloan

I started this book the end of January but should be done by the end of this week.  This is definately a light, easy read to accompany your lunch if you have nothing better to do but read.

It is a surprisingly nice read, I enjoy how smoothly and well written the author penned this novel.  I am not a big fan of heavily worded novels except for Stephen King and we all know how long it takes to read King’s work.  So anytime I get a chance to read something fast and easy, I usually read it for lunch. 

 It takes place in the old south Mississippi of the early 60’s, so far I am about 2/3 of a way through it and I am not quite sure how it will end.  The first 1/3 of it is a nice entertaining read about this girl and her familia.  The second 1/3 of it is about the same girl but all grown up in her college years in Berkely which is very amusing to read. The final 1/3 of this book is a nice complimentary ending to tie in the first 2/3 of this book.

The author’s style reminds me of Jack Kerouac.

My final recommendation: 4 out of 5 stars

Lisey’s Story by Stephen King

My all-time favorite author, who has penned many a book that has put me to sleep countless nights over the years, including spell-binding nights where I fall asleep in the wee dawn.  He churned out another gigantic volumne that no doubt will take me a few months to finish reading it as I only have time to read it for an half hour at night in bed.

So far it’s up to his standard of style.  It is not quite riveting yet as I am only in the first 1/4 of the book.  However it is amusing because he chose an author’s wife to be the main character of his story.  I wonder how much his wife enjoyed this book?

This review will be finished when I finish the book…

Finished reading the book last week.  It is definately one of his more cleaner works as it was not too far-fetched or too grossed out for sensitive readers.  I definately would read this book again.

My final recommendation : 4 out of 5 stars