B is for Burglar

Title: B is for Burglar
Author: Sue Grafton
Finished: November 9
Pages: 320
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperback
Publish Year: 1985
ISBN: 0312939000

The second book “B”, I thought, was much better than “A”. A definite improvement and I can feel Grafton coming into her own as a series writer.

Kinsey is hired to search for a missing woman, whose sister needs her signature for an inheritance document. At first Kinsey believes this will be an easy find, but soon realizes there is more than meets the eye with pretty much everyone she questions. The hard part is figuring out who is lying, and who is faking their identity, and who is really in danger of being killed off next.

Almost from the very beginning I was intrigued by the story and trying to formulate my own opinions. This story was more graphic than the last and many moments I cringed at the thought of finding myself in similiar situations.

It was very descriptive and I grew to like Kinsey a little more, but still a little unsure about her character development. So far there isn’t much in Kinsey’s background that jumps out at me and makes me like her or sympathize with her even more. Can’t wait to see what else is in store.

Flowers for Algernon

Title: Flowers for Algernon
Author: Daniel Keyes
Finished: November 7
Pages: 216
Publisher: Harvest Books
Publish Year: 1959
ISBN: 0156030306

It’s been a very long time since I read this, so I don’t really consider it a re-read.

It’s such an amazing story. Charlie was born with mental defects and a group of scientists arrange for him to have a surgery they believe will make him smarter. It is an amazing journey of a man who knew so little and was always happy, becoming smarter than even the doctors without understanding how or why things are.

Charlie’s intelligence increases at such a rapid speed he can’t keep up with the progress and becomes confused as to why certain things are the way they are. It takes courage for Charlie to finally stand up to the people who have treated him terrible in the past and show them that he has been a human being all along, with feelings, and they have been treating him only as a test subject.

The emotional roller coaster Charlie faces increases as he learns that maybe the operation only has a temporary effect and he may return to his previous mental state, or even worse.

Absolutely loved this book.

Weekly Geek #24

This week it’s all about our favorite authors.

1. Choose a writer you like.

2. Using resources such as Wikipedia, the author’s website, whatever you can find, make a list of interesting facts about the author.

3. Post your fun facts list in your blog, maybe with a photo of the writer, a collage of his or her books, whatever you want.

4. Come sign the Mr Linky below with the url to your fun facts post.

5. As you run into (or deliberately seek out) other Weekly Geeks’ lists, add links to your post for authors you like or authors you think your readers are interested in.

This week I’m going to choose James Patterson. Whenever in doubt of what I read, I can always pick up one of his books and enjoy every minute of it.

Facts About JP:

• One in every 15 hardcovers sold is a James Patterson novel
• He coined the phrase “Toys R Us Kid”
• Founded the James Patterson PageTurners Award
• Has appeared on the FOX TV show Simpsons
• Received his Masters Degree at Vanderbuilt University
• Lives in Palm Beach, Florida with his wife and son
• Holds the New York Times bestsellers list record* with 39 New York Times bestselling titles overall
• Has had 19 CONSECUTIVE #1 New York Times hardcover bestselling novels

New Author Challenge

The goal is to read 50 (or as many as you want) new authors in the year 2009. Since I already know a majority of my list next year consists of authors I have already read, 50 may be pushing it. We’ll see.

1. Rhonda Byrne – The Secret
2. Adair Lara – You Know You’re a Writer When
3. Herman Melville – Moby Dick
4. Candace Bushnell – One Fifth Avenue
5. Holly Black - Spiderwick Chronicles: The Field Guide
6. Aesopus – Aesop’s Fables
7. Jeffrey Eugenides – Middlesex
8. Bernhard Schlink – The Reader
9. Brenda Ueland – If You Want to Write
10. Marjane Satrapi – Persepolis I
11. C.S. Lewis – The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew
12. David Thomson – Have You Seen…?
13. Jane Smiley – A Thousand Acres
14. Thomas Hardy - Tess of the D’Urbervilles
15. Art Spiegelman – Maus
16. Richard Nelson Bolles – the 1996 What Color is Your Parachute?
17. J.D. Robb – Naked in Death
18. Jack Heffron – The Writer’s Idea Book
19. Charlaine Harris – Dead Until Dark
20. Frank Miller – Sin City: The Hard Goodbye (Vol. 1)
21. Christopher Moore – Fool
22. Catherine Hardwicke – Twilight Director’s Notebook
23. Sue Monk Kidd – The Secret Life of Bees
24. Amy Sohn – Sex and the City: the Movie
25. Katherine Center – Everyone is Beautiful
26. John C. Kirkland – Love Letters of Great Men Vol. 1
27. Ken Follett – The Pillars of the Earth
28. Steve Niles – 30 Days of Night
29. Rainer Maria Rilke – Letters to a Young Poet
30. Kaye Gibbons – Ellen Foster
31. Andrea Buchanan – The Daring Book for Girls
32. Meg Gardiner – The Dirty Secrets Club
33. Meg Cabot – Size 12 is Not Fat
34. Alan Moore – Watchmen
35. Fannie Flagg – Fried Green Tomatoes
36. Ian McEwan – Atonement
37. Scott Westerfled – Uglies
38. Charles Frazier – Cold Mountain
39. Jerry Bridges – Transforming Grace
40. Nancy Balbirer – Take Your Shirt Off and Cry
41. Norman Maclean – A River Runs Through It and Other Stories
42. Seth Grahame-Smith – Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
43. John Grogan – Marley and Me
44. Carol Higgins Clark – Decked
45. Tom Rath – Strengths Finder 2.0
46. Andy Andrews – The Noticer
47. Arthur Golden – Memoirs of a Geisha
48. Elizabeth Gilbert – Eat, Pray, Love
49. James Allen – As Man Thinketh
50. Sam Parker – Smile and Move

2009 Mini Challenges

I ran across some Mini-Challenges over at a blog hosted by Becky – HERE. What I like most about these is that you only have to read 2 books from the authors she has listed. I’ve chosen three of these so far for next year.

Scott Westerfeld Mini-Challenge

1. Uglies – finished JUNE 9

2. Pretties – finished NOV 14

Daniel Defoe Mini-Challenge

1. Robinson Crusoe – finished JAN 23

2. Roxana – finished OCT 22

John Steinbeck Mini-Challenge

1. East of Eden – finished MAR 15

2. Tortilla Flat – finished MAR 19