Fifty Books: 1, 2, and 3
So, Jen referenced this when she was visiting last winter - the 50 Books "project." Since I don't have the energy at 6am to go back and read the etymology of the actual 50 books woman I decided to make up my own rules.
1. Since I read so fast, 50 books from 6/1 to 12/31 should be more than doable.
2. If I have read the book before, I must re-read it in its entirety and it must not be one of my junk books - the whole point of the project is to pull me into new, non-junk books. However, do not be surprised if you see something like The Last Days of Summer sneak on here during the Cruise To Nowhere, when I will need comfort reading.
3. It must be a book that I am completely willing to tell other people that I am reading and share it with the world. That should be an obvious caveat, but since CityCat and I have had discussions about outdoor and indoor bookcases, I feel I need to note it.
So, with the rules in place, let's enter our first contenders.
#1 - Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult
Jodi Picoult was CityCat's and my new obsession a few weeks ago. We started with Vanishing Acts, and when I got my Borders gift cards, I picked up My Sister's Keeper and The Pact. CityCat then decided to attack the used bookshelves of Amazon with a vengeance. Picture Perfect was better than some of hers, not as good as others, but just as compelling to read as all of them. I have lost more sleep over this author than I can count. PP does not have the courtroom drama or the twists that many people associate with some of her other books, but I could not put the book down. If you're looking to warm up to this author, pick up this book and a number of her others, but save My Sister's Keeper until the middle, since I still think it is her best.
#2 - Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
So many people reccomended this book to me that I actually forgot I had not actually read it. While I do agree that the book should have stayed a book, since we disliked the movie, I was able to juggle all of the characters in the book much more easily since I had seen the movie. Some parts of the story were less compelling in the book, but overall - I was surprised to read it was written by a man. It was an exceptional picture - escapist literature about an escapist sector of society. The end was a little sudden for me, with too quick of a resolution, but probably just because (as the movie) the novel was a little slow.
#3 - The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult
This book is the reason that I am up at 6:30 in the morning after driving all night. Picoult newest book is also the reason E's mom made up for the coffeemaker discussion - she brought up Picoult independent of me (unless she was snooping through my bags, but that doesn't seem her style) and lent me the latest novel. Which I started on the drive home and finished once we got here. A different conceit - comic book pages scattered throughout the book, give this book another layer of compelling. Well written characters - though the father character for me could have been developed a little more - I wanted more out of him - and the twist that I figured out too soon - but I like that she writes in her twists in this book and in Plain Truth as afterthoughts, as if to say to the reader: "Yes, I know you are compulsively reading all of my books and therefore you can see the clues I leave you in the story. I will foil you by making it not as big of a deal as you would think!" Finally, there has to be something about Jodi Picoult if she is keeping me up at night, making me go to work on no sleep, and keeping both my boss and my roommate entranced as well.
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