What am I reading now?

I'm about 50 pages into Judith Henry Wall's Family Secrets, and so far it's a little slow moving, but I've heard good things about it. I'll probably finish in a couple of days.

Yesterday I took some books to my local used bookstore, and no one else was in there at the time, and the owner struck up a conversation about some of the books I took in. Then she mentioned the books she had finished, and the books she had gotten in recently or was reading to review, all things bookish really! It turns out she had just gotten a copy of Garden Spells, Sarah Addison Allen's first book, and when I mentioned it, she took it off the shelf and sold it to me! This is a book I've picked up and put down several times in Barnes and Noble; I know I really want to read it, but I couldn't bring myself to pay full price (and I'm actually NOT a huge fan of hardcover books in the first place). She told me to bring in a copy of the list of books I want and she'll call whenever she gets some. I swear the longer I live, the more I realize it pays to know people :)

Happy reading to all!

Challenge standings, etc...

I finished Candy Girl by Diablo Cody (who wrote the screenplay for Oscar-nominated Juno) and it was a very interesting and raunchy read. I cannot even give a review, it was that explicit. But, I am always drawn to memoirs in that I find it fascinating to see how others lived.

I have now finished 4 books in my 101 books in 1001 days challenge, and 2 books in the In Their Shoes Challenge. I've read 8 books so far in 2008; updated list is to the side of this post.

It took me longer than expected to finish Barack Obama's book, but it's no matter; it was an excellent but not easy read. I found myself re-reading passages and complete pages several times throughout the book.

For the first time in awhile, I don't know what I'm reading next! Stay tuned :)

The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama

Whether or not you agree politically with Obama, you must admit he has character and integrity. He's a very inspiring, honest, educated human being, and as far as I'm concerned, one of the only politicians ever who seems to actually have the greater good in mind for the American people. He came from humble beginnings and so can see the affects of issues such as lagging health care, minimum wage jobs and faltering education on middle- and lower- class Americans.

Obama is genuine in his politics - when running for Senate, he realize he may lose followers if he answered against their beliefs, as long as he was honest. He admitted that if he agreed with the actual issue but disagreed with the manner in which legislators arrived at the policy for said issue, he would have to disagree completely because to not do so would be to lie, and that's not something he stands for.

I don't want to make this a political post, but it's hard to "review" this book without looking at the politics. I won't try to persuade anyone in any manner, I just recommend that people read his work and understand his passion before criticizing him.

Now back to the book. It's definitely not an easy read, meaning that he is so articulate, I often had to reread sections because his words flow so nicely, but I couldn't remember everything I'd read. I found it challenging to read about policy making and his campaigns for Illionis Senate, and then the U.S. Senate, and also to read about his genuine knowledge of history and the Constitution. He is a very smart man, and I wish that every American was as passionate about something as he is about policy making. His passion for politics and his ability to empathize with the American people - characteristics seriously lacking in politics today - are apparent. (Have you noticed the crowd at any of his speeches? They are by far the most vocal and energetic.)

What is the audacity of hope? It's the phrase he used in his 2004 Democratic National Convention address as keynote speaker. And this is what he writes in the book:

"The audacity of hope. That was the best of the American spirit, I thought - having the audacity to believe despite all the evidence to the contrary that we could restore a sense of community to a nation torn by conflict, the gall to believe that despite personal setbacks, the loss of a job or an illness in the family or a childhood mired in poverty, we had some control - and therefore responsibility over our own fate. It was that audacity that joined us as a people."

If you want to see where he stands on critical issues facing America, this is the book for you. Click here to read the New York Times review of his book.

Hard Drive Crashed!

I experienced some major computer problems yesterday and it turned out my hard drive is completely shot. A new one is being shipped ASAP, but all is lost, including my four page, alphabetical list (by author, not title) of books I want to read. :(

I have a feeling that through the book blogging world and my yahoo groups and some recommendations (that's a hint) I will have another list in no time. This mishap cost me a lot of time yesterday and I didn't get as much reading done as I hoped. Life goes on, right? I hope to finish my book this weekend.

In the mean time, take it from me - back up everything on our computer!!

Still here...

...I've just been sidetracked! My business venture has taken up a good portion of my time lately, as I'm sure it will in the months ahead. I am only 90 or so pages into Obama's book, but I will be reading tonight until bedtime, and probably tomorrow for awhile. In the mean time, find me on GoodReads.

Juno

This movie has been hyped up lately and I saw some of the female stars on Oprah the other day, and I just had to see it. It's even generating Oscar buzz! It was a great movie, very sarcastic and hilarious - my type of movie! The screenplay was written by Diablo Cody, who announced on Oprah that it only took her "about two months" to write it. She was formerly a stripper in Minnesota, which she penned a memoir about, titled Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper. Coincidentally, my friend who accompanied me to the movie last night loaned me the book.

I'm currently reading Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope, but guess what I'll be reading next? :) Go see Juno!

The Slow Moon by Elizabeth Cox

Well, I started and finished this book in just over 24 hours - it was so good! It was quite the page-turner; I just couldn't set it down! In short, the story consists of 6 high school boys and a younger teenage girl who attend a party at the start of the book, and something horrific happens to the young girl. The town itself is small - everyone knows everyone, and everyone is connected in ways we don't realize until the middle of the book - and it sends the town spinning until they find out who did it. The end result, while pretty predictable, really goes to show the affects of drugs and alcohol on teenagers.

Next book on my list: The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama. This will be my second book of the 10 I picked to read for the In Their Shoes Challenge.