Book 52 (52!!!) Gone Girl

So I have finally done it, on my third try I finally managed to read 52 books in a year. I am glad that I chose Gillian Flynn's "Gone Girl" to finish off with, it was a great read, one that I couldn't wait to get back to reading and one that I was sad that it had to end as well. I have already bought a couple more of Flynn's books for my kindle app and I am looking forward to reading them for CBRV next year. 

Ok, so I just had to read this book after reading all the buzz about it on the CBR4 blog. Everyone promised me an engaging page turner with plot twists, intrigue and some fear mixed into the batter as well. I was not disappointed. It is definitely the type of book that you want to go in unspoiled as there are some twists and turns and it is way more fun if you go in blind. 

Book 51 - Life's Too Short to Fold Fitted Sheets

I bought this book a really long time ago during one of my impulse buying days at the book store. I have recently just moved and so I decided to give it a read to help me along with setting my new place up for success with as little effort as possible. Overall I really enjoyed reading it, and there are tons of tips that I will use to help keep my new place clean, organized and looking nice. 

Book 50 - Slam

Book 50, wow that feels great, I am already into book 51 and then one more after that and I will finally reach my goal, pretty sweet. Ok on to the actual review then. 

"Slam" by Nick Hornby is another book that I picked up during my impromptu Chapters shopping spree. I was trying to think of another book that I would like to purchase and often what I will do is choose an author that I have enjoyed in the past and just blindly pick another of that authors books and see what happens. So when I started reading this book I didn't really know what it would be about, although I did guess a bit of it based on the cover (judging a book by it's cover, how improper of me). 

Book 49 - Ordeal

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Book 48 - Thrive Fitness

"Thrive Fitness" is another book that I have been reading here and there in between other books but I finally finished it the other day. It is an excellent companion book to "The Thrive Diet" and although it shares a lot of similar information it doesn't seem like a retread but a fresh take on his philosophies and experiences. If I could only follow his advice then I would be able to achieve some of my goals, but I am taking things one day at a time. Once I get settled into my new role at my company and finish moving then I will be able to devote more time to my health and fitness goals. 

Book 47 - When You Reach Me

I purchased this book off Amazon to read on my Kindle app and I have been reading it here and there when I had nothing better to do and I finally finished it on Sunday night when I was waiting for the Paul McCartney show to start (incredible show btw). I think I had this book mixed up with another with a similar title when I bought it but I can't recall which book that I thought it was anyways.

Book 46 - A Scanner Darkly

This book has been on my to read list for some time so when I was out shopping at Chapters (they reeled me in with a card that got me savings from $5-$50 if I spent $50, guess how much I saved) I decided to pick this one up. I really enjoyed "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" so I was excited to read another Philip K. Dick novel and I wasn't disappointed. 

"A Scanner Darkly" is set in "the future" well it was when it was written. This book was written the year I was born and set the year before I graduated High School. It is hard to say what it is "about" per say, drugs and conspiracies maybe? It is set in a world where you are either drug user or a "straight". The drug that most of the users are addicted to is called Substance D, Slow Death or Death. It is a drug that apparently is grown and has only one source. Our protagonist, Bob Arctor is an undercover narcotics agent seeking to take down a big time supplier and maybe one day even take down Substance D from the top. 

Book 45 - We Don't Live Here Anymore

I am rededicated and determined to meet my goal this year. Now that I have finished this book I have beaten my count for the last two years (CBR2 I read this many books but the deadline was Oct 31 and I only had 41 then kept reading until December 31). I also hit up the bookstore (I am still fighting with the library since they want to charge me for a book I did not damage) and I purchased 3 books that I am very excited to read. That only leaves 4 after that. I will be taking transit to work again which means a potential of two extra hours of reading time. I just have to focus on it, turn off the TV or games and just dive into a good book. I am still planning to do CBR5 but I think I will just do a half so that I can take it easy and also tackle a few longer books that I have on my shelf. Anyhoo, on to the review.

"We Don't Live Here Anymore" by Andre Dubus is another book that I found as I was packing up my things and deciding which books that I would donate and which to keep. I purchased this one for a bargain at a book sale at the library (jerks). I remember liking the movie, but when I first tried to read this book I just couldn't get into it. I decided to give it another go rather than just giving it away and I am glad that I did because I really enjoyed it. 

Book 44 - Trainspotting

I'm getting ready to move and as I was packing up my books I found a copy of Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh. Back in the 90s I went through a big Irvine Welsh phase and I decided to reread Trainspotting to see if it held up. I had a tough time at first adjusting to the Scottish dialect that it is mostly written in, but soon found myself engrossed in the tales contained within. I had another copy of this book back in the day, and in the back there was a handy glossary that explained what some of the slang terms meant, I think that it should be contained in each edition of the book because although not essential it is quite interesting.

Book 43 - High Before Homeroom

I haven't written a review in forever it seems, I have really stalled on the reading, I now only have 9 books to go and I am already discouraged that I once again will not meet my goal. To add insult to injury, when I returned this book to the library they say I returned it wet and are charging me $30 to replace it. I am pretty upset about this as I take care of the books that I borrow and I don't really want to pay $30 for something that I didn't do. So I need to go into the library and talk with a supervisor, but I haven't had the time as I have been swamped in my personal life.

Book 42 - Free Range Chickens

I was reading the 4th dark tower book but it is really long and I really just wanted something nice and light that I could finish quickly. After this one I only have 10 more to go!!! I am excited that I will finally reach my goal this year, nothing will get in my way. (JINX!)

Anyways, this book is a collection of jokes, sort of. That is how they are described, but I think they are more like amusing anecdotes, but I guess that is splitting hairs. It is an entertaining read, see this for an example:

Book 40 + 41 - Catching Fire + Mocking Jay

So I have been unable to complete these reviews for a few reasons, I am going through a rough time personally and I just haven't been able to get them typed up so I decided to combine them into one and just say a few things about how I felt about these two books.

I think most people have either read these books or if they haven't then they shouldn't read reviews since I don't like spoilers. But to each his own so if you want to read on then you might get spoiled. I am not going to do a plot summary or anything but as I type on who knows what will come out.

Book 39 - The Hunger Games

I wasn't immediately sold on reading "The Hunger Games". I am one of those people who get turned off when something is too popular. However, having said that I do take into account the opinions of those that I value before making a final decision on something. I had heard only good things from those people and I was just waiting for the right time to dive into these books. I had started two books in the last month but neither really grabbed me. Also I am going through a transitional time at work and I also started going back to the gym, so I really needed a book that I knew I would enjoy and that would get me back on track and back on pace to finally finish my goal of 52 books in a year. So now here we are, back in love with reading and with 3 more books under my belt.

I will start with the first book and work my way from there. I am sure most people have read these, or seen the movie, but just in case you haven't then you really shouldn't be reading this, but if you are, then you might get spoiled, so consider yourself warned. 

Book 38 - The Wastelands

All I have to say is that I am very glad that I have the next book in the series and I don't have to wait 6 years for the next chapter in this engaging story. "The Wastelands" is the third book in the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. See here for my reviews of the first two books in the series. 

Book 37 - Blisters and Bliss

After reading "Wild" I am all gung ho to pursue some outdoor adventures of my own and over here the West Coast Trail is a pretty famous route to hike so I started looking into it and this book is recommended all over the place as being the best book to read on the subject so I decided to give it a go.

Book 36 - Wild

I loved this book so much I want to give it a big hug. I was expecting to enjoy it, as I love stories about adventures in the wilderness such as "Into the Wild", "Into Thin Air", "In the Path of an Avalanche"  and now after reading this one, I will be sure to seek out more of these types of tales as they speak to a big part of me that really loves the outdoors.

Book 35 - Let's Pretend This Never Happened

While I was reading this book my son kept asking me why I was laughing, I cracked up so many times he must have thought that I was losing it. "Let's Pretend This Never Happened" by  Jenny Lawson has to be the funniest book I have read in a really long time, if not the funniest book ever. I have never heard of Lawson, "The Bloggess" but I am glad that I saw this book all over the #CBR4 site and gave it a read because it was a great time. 

Book 34 - Inside Scientology

I have been sitting on two reviews for a couple of weeks now, I have never really had a difficulty in writing these reviews, even though some have been sub par at least they got done. I have always made it a personal rule to finish the review before moving on to the next book, but I read both of these when up visiting my family in the Okanagan then I just haven't been able to get my head wrapped around what I want to say about them. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy them. I found them both great reads although in very different ways. Last night I finished another book so today I will get my reviews done and no more excuses!

Scientology is a fascinating subject and one that I have spent a bit of time here and there reading about as I travelled the internet. "Inside Scientology" by Janet Reitman delves quite thoroughly into the life of L Ron Hubbard and also tells us the stories of former Scientologists. 

Book 33 - Purge

Having an eating disorder is unfortunately an all too common condition in this world. I am not sure what it is that causes the brain to get all messed up about body image, but I do know that it never goes away. I often wonder what it would be like to eat "normally", to not to have to worry about stuffing a whole box of chocolates in your face. I have come to terms with my own condition, and most of the time I do OK, but it will always be a concern and an effort to stay healthy. Then again, since I am hyper vigilant to others eating habits, I do see that no one really eats "normally" and the best I can hope for is to stay on a healthy path and not spend too much of my life stressing about body image. 

Book 32 - Bonk

I remember hearing about Mary Roach and her book "Stiff" when it was featured on "Six Feet Under" and at the time I thought it would be an interesting read. Then when I was reading reviews on the CBR4 site I found out that Roach had written a book about the science of sex and I had to check it out for myself.

Book 31 - The Drawing of the Three

So now that I have read the second book in the Dark Tower Series I am getting quite into it and I am excited to keep on reading the rest. This book picks up where we left off in "The Gunslinger" and as per the title, tells us the tale of the three that Roland picks up along the way to aid in his quest for the tower.

Book 30 - Eating the Dinosaur

I recently have been rewatching "The OC" (Don't judge me!) and Seth Cohen was reading "Sex Drugs and Cocoa Puffs" and that title alone seemed quite interesting but my library didn't have it so I decided to read "Eating the Dinosaur" by Chuck Klosterman instead as it seemed intriguing as well. Even though it is not a buther's guide to dinosaur meat, it is still a highly entertaining set of essays on a variety of topics that I highly enjoyed (except for the two about sports, but that is only because I hate sports).

Book 29 - Nerd Do Well

Much like Simon Pegg's feelings about the new Star Wars movies, I really wanted to love this book but I just couldn't quite make it there. "Shaun of the Dead" is one of my favorite movies, and "Spaced" is a real gem, so when I found out that Pegg had written a book I made sure to get my hands on it. "Nerd Do Well" tells us the tales mostly of Pegg's formative years. Overall they were entertaining, if not a bit confusing as the time frame jumped back and forth and it was hard to keep track of what era we were in.

Book 28 - The Gunslinger

So I am taking on the Dark Tower series. As an avid King fan I am surprised that I have not read them sooner but the e-reader that youthfulzombie gave me has the books on there so what better time than the present to get started. I have a few library books to read as well so I might not be reading them back to back, but you never know.

In any case, The Gunslinger is the inaugural tale in the series. It takes place in a world that is not our own, but seems to share a few things in common with ours in a mysterious way. It is a world that is not what it once was, the phrase that is apparently often used through the series is that the "world has moved on". We meet the mysterious Roland right away, he is the titular Gunslinger and is apparently the last of his kind. He is following a mysterious man in black and seems to be seeking revenge.

Book 27 - Ready Player One

I finished reading "Ready Player One" about a week ago. I loved it so much that I couldn't wait to keep reading it. It is the first book in a long time that I will read again in the future. I haven't really been able to put my thoughts together eloquently enough to write a review that I feel gives justice to the way I felt about this book but I have put it off long enough so I am going to spit it all out on here and mark it off my to do list.

"Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline tells us the tale of a future world in which many people inhabit an alternate reality called the "OASIS". At the beginning of the book we are told that the creator of OASIS, James Halliday, has passed away and had no heir to leave his vast fortune to. He has placed an Easter egg inside of the OASIS and the first person to find it will be his heir and therefore will inherit his money and control of the OASIS. There are 3 keys that a person must find, as well as 3 gates that they must pass challenges in order to proceed with the challenge.

Halfway there yay!!

So as of the last review I am halfway to my goal of 52 books this year. This is the third time I have attempted this and the last two years I was at this point in August and September, so it feels pretty good to be here in May!

I am already almost finished reading "Ready Player One" which I absolutely love! So I should be posting that review soon as well. I'm feeling pretty good about my chances of finishing CBR this year.

Book 26 - Deadlocked

I found out that the latest Sookie Stackhouse book was out when reading the winning review of CRB4 by Malin. I was pretty excited to read it and was lucky to get a copy on a Superloan from my library (they put new popular titles on a 7 day no renew no request basis, with a $1 per day late charge). I didn't need the 7 days as I gobbled it up in about 3.

There is nothing really all that special about these books, but there is just something about them that speaks to my guilty pleasure side. I have read all of them, and reviewed quite a few of them as well. This book is not much different from the rest, there is a crime, a mystery of sorts to be solved. We get to spend time with our favorite characters, Sookie, Eric, Sam and I suppose for some even Bill.

Book 25 - Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

I have read a few reviews of "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?" by Mindy Kaling and it sounded so great that I had to read it as well. I was pretty excited that the library was able to get it for me in a relatively short time and I greedily read it up in no time at all.

It bears comparison to Tina Fey's "Bossypants" and if I was forced to choose which one I liked more I think I would choose this one. Perhaps it is because as a fellow chubby girl I identify more with Kaling, also we are of a similar age so the stories of her childhood hit a bit closer to home for me.

Book 24 - The Wife's Tale

One of Mary's first memories is of going to the doctor and being told that she is obese. In her young mind this sounds like a terrible word, like a monster in a fairy tale. She calls it the "obeast" and it controls her life for many years to come.

The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens was in some ways a very good book, but in other ways it let me down as well. It is the tale of Mary Gooch, morbidly obese and depressed, who's husband leaves her suddenly right before their 25th anniversary.

Book 23 - The Odds

While browsing the library my eye was drawn to a book with a beautiful yet somber picture of Niagara falls and a rainbow on it. Since I rather enjoyed “Last Night at the Lobster”, as soon as I saw that it was by the same author, Stewart O’Nan, I snatched it up immediately. I am very glad that I did, and I will be seeking out more of his works in the future.

“The Odds” tells us that we are meeting a couple, Art and Marion on the last weekend of their marriage. Crippled by debt, they have come up with a plan to divorce, he will file for bankruptcy to save them both from the mess that they are in. As far as Art is concerned it will be only on paper, Marion is not so sure. Adding to their marital strain, both have histories of infidelity, although only his is known to them both.

Book 22 - Cujo

The storyline of Cujo by Stephen King didn't really grab me, which is why I never bothered to read it before now. But I happened upon it at the library and decided just to read it, I think I am getting close to having read all of King's books now which is neat.

Book 21 - The Night Circus

If you haven't already read "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern, what are you waiting for? I waited this long because there was a massive waiting list at the library and my book budget is negligible. I had heard quite a lot of good things about this book by other reviewers, but I let myself go in unspoiled as to the specifics and I was glad that I did.

Book 20 - Miss Wyoming

Miss Wyoming by Douglas Coupland was a pretty good book. I don't know if it is because I have been writing these for so long or what, but I don't really have a whole lot to say about it but I am sure I will come up with something as I type along.

I will start off my directing you to some of my other reviews of Coupland books, always a good place to start. There's Microserfs, Generation A, Girlfriend in a Coma, and Player One. Some I loved and some were only so-so, but overall I am becoming a pretty big Coupland fan, and I love that he is local here to Vancouver.

Book 19 - The Running Man

After reading "The Long Walk", it was recommended that I read some of the other Bachman books. I happened upon "The Running Man" at the library and decided to check it out. I have heard of the movie version but have never seen it, I am not a Schwarzenegger fan. From reading about the movie version, it seems quite different from the book, and I am glad that it was so.

The Running Man is the tale of Ben Richards, a man struggling to keep his family afloat in a dystopian world. Pollution, poverty and crime run rampant. Desperate people can approach the Games Network in the hopes of getting cast on one of their programs. These include "Treadmill to Bucks" in which heart and lung patients answer trivia questions while running on an escalating speed treadmill, "Swimming with Crocodiles" and of course the titular "Running Man".

Book 18 - The Thrive Diet

I have been a long time user of Vega products, and so I have been meaning to read "The Thrive Diet" by the creator of those products, Brendan Brazier for some time. I have fallen off the health and fitness wagon a bit lately and so I decided that this would be a good way to refocus on that and learn more about nutrition along the way.

I have read a few books on the subject, In Defense of Food and Eating Animals among them. I read half of Twinkie Deconstructed before I had to stop lest I never be able to eat anything ever again. So The Thrive Diet was right up my alley. The gist of it is to eat foods that are the most efficient for your body to process for ultimate performance and health. It is a vegan plan, mostly encouraging leafy vegetables. It is not something that a person can jump into with both feet, but as someone who is aiming to "eat clean" it is a great goal to aspire to.

Book 17 - Last Night at the Lobster

I really enjoyed reading "Last Night at the Lobster" by Stewart O'Nan. I am a pretty big fan of stories that take place over the course of one day, I think it encourages the author to make the content more meaningful since there is less time passing so every little detail counts.

This tale takes us into a Red Lobster franchise on its final day before being shut down. We meet general manager Manny as he starts his day with a pipe full of weed out in the parking lot, then follow him as he meticulously ticks off every item on his daily to do list, even though it is the last day. He has been able to secure jobs for a few staff at another restaurant but most have been let go. Manny himself will be an assistant manager at the new restaurant, yet he still takes a great pride in his job (getting high before work notwithstanding).

Book 16 - A Touch of Dead

As anyone who reads my blog knows, I am a pretty big fan of True Blood and the Sookie Stackhouse novels. I was looking for a good audio book to listen to and happened upon “A Touch of Dead” which is a collection of five short stories that go along with the SS novels.

There is not really much to say about these, they were amusing but didn’t really add much to the story line of the books with the exception of “One Word Answer” which actually contains important information to the plot of Definitely Dead and in my opinion should be included at the start of that novel as I found it very confusing when I initially read that book.

Book 15 - Chocolat

A few weeks ago I watched the movie version of "Chocolat" on TV, I have seen it several times and it is
"Just Delightful". I never realized before that it was based on a book so I decided to give it a read and I am very glad that I did. I was pleased to find that the basic plot and theme was the same as the movie but it was also quite different so it was a brand new experience as well.

Book 14 - Microserfs

 While I am not raving about this book as much as Generation A, Microserfs was a good enough book I suppose. I don't really have a whole lot to say about it, and so I guess really I wasn't all that impressed. On the surface this book is about a group of young people who work at Microsoft in the early 90s, narrated to us in journal form by Daniel. We meet his closest coworkers as they are rushing to be able to ship out a product, coding and debugging all day and night long.

Book 13 - Bright Shiny Morning

Is it possible to love and hate a book at the same time? Although that is a bit harsh, there were many aspects of "Bright Shiny Morning" by James Frey that I really loved, and almost as many that I didn't care for. I do recall hearing about Frey as most of us likely did, with that whole Oprah scandal. I don't really care too much about all of that, what really counts is the quality of the book itself. I would say that Frey is an excellent writer, but he would benefit from some restraint, the scope of this tale was just far too large.

"Bright Shiny Morning" is a tale of Los Angeles. It intermixes the history of the city, "fun facts" and tales of many different characters. Although there are many (too many) stories that this book follows, the main ones are homeless "Old Man Joe", celebrity couple Amberton Parker and his "beard" wife Casey, Mexican-American Esperanza a maid with ambitions for a better life and young couple Maddie and Dylan who have come to California to escape Maddie's abusive mother and to seek a better life by the sea.

Book 12 - Generation A

I think that I might have found a new favorite author, and one that resides in my area to boot! Generation A is the third book that I have read by Douglas Coupland. Previously I have read Player One and Girlfriend in a Coma, and currently I am reading Microserfs. I don’t really do much in moderation. Generation A was the first book that I read this year that I really loved. However while reading it part of me was wondering exactly why I loved it so much because it seems to have elements that I sometimes disliked in other books, the third act is largely composed of short stories within the main narrative for one. But for whatever reason, something about Generation A really worked for me.

The book follows five people that have received bee stings in a world where bees are believed to be extinct. The book was written in 2009  and it is set in the near future. Each of those stung tells their tale in alternating chapters as we read on. As soon as each is stung, they are put into isolation where they are not allowed to read, or have entertainment of any kind. They are made to eat this crazy jello like substance and they have blood taken in large amounts daily. While in isolation they are not even able to see any other people and only communicate with the scientists that have taken them via a computerized voice.

Book 11 - How to be Good

I bought this book back in October when I was in Toronto. I started to read it then I didn't feel like reading anything for a while when my cat passed away and since then I have had so many library books that I haven't read anything that I didn't have on loan. But I finally made my way back to it, and I gotta say that I love me some Nick Hornby. I have read  and reviewed several of his books on here such as High Fidelity, Juliet Naked and About a Boy.

On its surface, “How to be Good” is about a woman struggling to decide whether or not to leave her marriage. Katie is a doctor and she has been married to David, a grumpy writer who is also the primary caregiver for their two children. Katie starts off the book explaining that she has no major issues with her husband but she is generally unhappy. This makes her pose the question if malcontent is enough of a reason to end a marriage.

Book 10 - The Glass Castle

My boss recommended that I read "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls, I am not sure that I would recommend it to anyone else. That is not to say that the book is not extremely well written or that the story is not riveting, but it is quite heartbreaking to read. 

We first meet Jeannette when she is three years old and she has burned herself on the stove cooking hot dogs for herself. She ends up with quite severe burns and once shes returns home, her parents are proud of her for going back to cooking and not being afraid of the fire. To say that her parents have unconventional ideas about parenting is an understatement.

Book 9 - The Dark Half

I guess you can't win them all. The Dark Half is the first Stephen King book that I have not really enjoyed, at least as far as I can recall. I was pretty excited to read it after King referenced it during the introduction to The Long Walk, but overall I was not to impressed with this tale.

The story centers around writer Thad Beaumont, who writes under a pseudonym and then "kills" off the other author when he is forced to out himself under threat of extortion. George Stark, the fictional author becomes not so fictional and starts killing all those involved with bringing his fictional nature to light.

Book 8 - Ravens

Ravens by George Dawes Green is about a family in Georgia who wins the lottery. Two lowly tech-support workers are passing through town on a vacation and when they stop in at the mini mart where the winning ticket was sold, they happen to find out the identity of the winning family and proceed to take them hostage and extort them for half of the jackpot.

The two captors are Shaw and Romeo, they have been friends since childhood. Romeo will do anything to make Shaw happy, he has been eager to please him for years and Shaw is more than willing to take advantage. The hostages are the Boatwright family, there is the devoutly religious father Mitch, the drunk mother Patsy and the hard working college student daughter, Tara, there is a younger son Jase who plays only a minor role in the story. Shaw takes up residence with the family, while Romeo prowls the streets keeping tabs on the Boatwright family and is ready to strike them down should the need arise.

Book 7 - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

I decided to read this book after reading a post on Pajiba about movies that would have been better with a different ending. I can't seem to find that post or remember the exact title, but in any case it lead me to this book and I enjoyed it very much and I am now looking forward to watching my Director's cut of Bladerunner as I think it has the better ending that Pajiba was referring to. I have never seen any version of Bladerunner but I had vaguely heard of it and knew it was something to do with a bounty hunter and androids .

"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" is the story of a world ravaged by World War Terminus. The planet Earth is mostly abandoned since most have gone off to colonies on Mars where they are all promised their own personal android assistant (slave). Back on earth we meet Rick Deckard who is a bounty hunter working for the San Francisco police. Sometimes the androids tire of slaving for the humans and they kill them and flee back to Earth. 

Book 6 - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

 

I read "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" by Jean-Dominique Bauby as it was listed as a recommendation at the end of "Girlfriend in a Coma". It is a memoir of sorts written by the French editor of Elle magazine who suffers a stroke and then has a condition called "Locked in Syndrome". He has some movement ability with his head and he is able to communicate using his left eye. In order to communicate people use a chart of letters ordered in frequency of their usage in the French language. He still does have his hearing, although sometimes certain sounds do bombard his hearing. 

The memoir itself is a series of vignettes going back and forth between his time in the hospital and his life before. He has a gift for the written word, and he seems to find beauty in his surroundings wherever he goes. He takes great joy in being wheeled up to a patio where he sees himself as a director, summoning clouds and birds. 

Book 5 - The Long Walk

I have so much to say about this book it is hard to know where to start. I have a lot of intelligent things to say mulling about in my brain, we will see if any of them actually make it on to this review. First I would like to give a shout out to my buddy youthfulzombie and her "Best reads of 2011" post that first brought my attention to this book. Second I would like to give myself a pat on the back for coming up with an ingenious way to be able to read while stuffing envelopes at work. Gotta love making a monotonous task a bit more fun.

"The Long Walk" is a novel written by Stephen King under the nom de plume Richard Bachman. Although I vaguely remember that he used a pseudonym at one time, I didn't fully realize that he had written so many books under the Bachman name. It seems that he may have done this to prove to himself that people were buying his books for the quality within rather than the brand name of Stephen King. Since the truth was brought to light too quickly he was unable to properly prove this one way or another. I would have liked to been able to read a Bachman book to see if I would have been smart enough to recognize the voice of my favorite author even in hiding.

Book 4 - Big Girl Small

"Big Girl Small" by Rachel DeWoskin is the tale of a teen aged girl nard Judy who has achondroplasia, a type of dwarfism. She is a very talented singer has just started at Darcy, an elite arts school. Early on she meets and falls hard for the beautiful and brooding Kyle.

When we first meet Judy, she has fled to a sleazy motel to escape an unnamed scandal. She is in hiding, over dramatizing the situation, imagining that reporters in helicopters are waiting to get a photo of her if she even leaves her sanctuary. As the book progresses we get pieces to the puzzle as well find out the details of her first months at her new school and we meet her new good friends Sarah and Molly.