December Books 2009

Well, I started out 2009 with the goal of Keeping Track of How Many Books I Read and rating them with a 5 star system.  AND writing a little snippet of my thoughts on each one.  


I am thrilled to bring you the final installment of my year in books!  


I read 128 books.  I loved most of them.  What a great year.  :)



118. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott -(*****)  Five stars because I love, LOVE this book.  I really do.  It's such a comfort read for me.  It makes me happy! :)

119.  Good Wives by Louisa May Alcott -(****) Almost as good as Little Women.  I say "almost" because a certain character dies...(I'm sure you all know EXACTLY who I'm talking about).  And every time I read it my heart breaks all over again.  This time around I was sobbing into a paper towel (couldn't find a kleenex) and when my sister walked in and made some remark that brought a fresh burst of tears, she felt guilty and offered me two chocolate kisses as a peace offering.  I wailed "What good is chocolate?!?!?  Beth still dies every time I read this book!"  *sniff*  *shudder*

120.  The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie (*****)  It must be my month for comfort reads.  This was my very first ever Agatha Christie book several years ago.  I read it, and promptly was hooked.  It's still in my top ten.  I LOVE Tommy and Tuppence.  I secretly want to be Tuppence.  I named my computer Tuppence.  Once I was delighted for a whole day because my mom said I was being very "sleuth-like" and reminding her of "That one Agatha Christie detective that Francesca Anis plays."  Um, TUPPENCE!!!  YEAH!

121.  Every Storm by Lori Wick- (**) Well, I was in the mood for a fluff read and I definitely got it.  Ho hum.  Back in my teens I read a lot of Lori Wick's Christian Romance novels, but even then I think I knew they weren't so fabulous.  *sigh*  Her writing style is monotonous, jerky and bland.  I'm not sure how she manages to sell so many books.  Actually, I do know.  It's because the Christian book market is so...  limited?  Very disappointing.  The story itself isn't bad.  If another author had taken it in hand I might even have loved the story.  It has a lot of good elements and some potential.  Set in the 1940s which I *heart* but it feels very modern and I often forgot that I was reading something supposedly "vintage."  Oh well... 

122.  Little Men- (***)  Very sweet and vignette-ish.  Not as engaging as Little Women but still a happy sequel.  Daisy and Demi are my faves.  :)


 123.  Skating Shoes by Noel Streatfeild- (***) I wasn't as enchanted by this book as I have been by Noel Streatfeild's other books that I've read.  Part of it may be the edition I was reading.  Yearling reprinted it in 2009 and I was (to say the least) VERY disappointed in the quality.  Not only are the materials cheaper than cheap and the print hard to read there were SO many grammatical errors that my reading experience was somewhat cautious.  I didn't count how many times there was a period in the middle of the sentence, or no quotations around someone's words or no capital letter at the beginning of a sentence.  But, by the time I'd found 5 mistakes in the first 50 pages of the book I was pretty disgusted.  I even entertained thoughts of marking the mistakes in red pen and sending the whole book back to the Yearling company to let them know what I thought of their quality of workmanship.  It's more disappointing than I can say that I spent $6.99 on a brand new book with mistakes every 4 or 5 pages, when I could buy a used copy of the same book printed in 1962 for $2 and it would be in 10 times better condition. 

124.  Going Rogue by Sarah Palin -(*****)  If I was a Palin fan before reading her book, I'm 10 times more so now.  Politics aside, she has a gripping narrative style of writing that made the 410 pages go by pretty fast.  Plenty of humor mixed in with the straight talk.  I like her views and the way she expresses them.  She's a REAL person. 

125.  Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott- (***)  Sequel to Little Men.  Sweet, like all Alcott's works, but not my favorite. 

126.  Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie -(****)  I love Peter Pan.  I love the imagery of J.M. Barrie's words. 

127.  Carry On, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse- (*****)  Very entertaining! 

128.  The Winslow Boy by Terrence Rattigan (*****)  Technically this is a play, but it came in book form, so I'm counting it.  Such a good story.  And absolutely true which is the best part.  I love all the different dimensions in this story.  On the surface it's a Father and Daughter fighting for their Son/Brother's honor.  Fighting for justice.  But, after the fight has gone on for over a year and the family has made so many sacrifices, some of them, as the Father says "[sacrifices] I had no right to make," the fight turns into much more.  Is it just stubborn resolve and pride?  Or, is it a fight for justice?  It's even more than just justice.  They fight to "Let Right Be Done."  I love this play.  There's also a movie, which was my first introduction to this story. 

Reading it this time reminded me of the first time I ever read this play.  My sister Susie and I were bored and decided to read it out loud.  We split the parts evenly between us and had a blast!  Laughing for the first time over the humor...  The best part was when Susie was Reading Sir Robert Morton (lawyer) cross examine Ronnie (Winslow Boy).  Both parts.  If I remember correctly I laughed during the first page and had pity by taking over one of the parts for the next three pages.  Good times.  Good story.