Updated book list

Here is my new updated book list of everything I've read since I last posted everything I'd read. Some of them I have read in the past, even multiple times, but I want to keep track of all this for future reference. Starting with the most recent:

Currently reading:
The Complete Poetry of Robert Frost
The Changeling Sea by Patricia A. McKillip
B of M


Read:
The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau
Crispin by Avi
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
The Memory of Earth by Orson Scott Card
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Snow by Tracy Lynn
Forever in Blue by Anne Brashares
Girls in Pants by Anne Brashares
Girls Like Us: Carole King, Carly Simon, Joni Mitchell by Sheila Weller
The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Anne Brashares
Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
The Prophet of Yonwood by Jeanne DuPrau
The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau
Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett

The Alchemist

Posted by Alisyn:

Here is my contribution to The Book Orchard after recently finishing "The Alchemist":

"There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure." (p 141)

"No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world." (p 158)

VERY ENCOURAGING and GOOD book! Worth a read.

I am now reading "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett (thanks again for the book, Shannon!). I'll let you know how that goes.

Girls Like Us

I just finished a biography of Joni Mitchell, Carole King, and Carly Simon called Girls Like Us by Sheila Weller. (It was very engaging...and it made me grateful that the 70's were not my era.) I am fascinated by Joni Mitchell. I think her lyrics are brilliant. Her life has been turbulent and so full of chaos and heart break it's nearly unbelievable. (Not nearly as bad as Edith Piaf though.) I found it interesting to read about how the events in her life shaped the songs that I love. They have a richer meaning for me now. Carole's and Carly's live were similarly turbulent (and an interesting fact, all of them were involved with James Taylor somehow. He and Joni were lovers for a while, he and Carly Simon were married and had two kids, he and Carole were musical associates and worked together on various projects.) The book is written very well, alternating between chapters about each singer and what each was doing during certain years. Weller also delves into the other issues of their time and how those issues may have influenced their writing. It's impossible to read an unbiased biography, however, and Weller's strong pro-feminist views sometimes color her portrayals.

Stargirl

I just read a YA novel called Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. This is the best book I have read in a long time. Here's the short description from Amazon:
"Stargirl. From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of “Stargirl, Stargirl.” She captures Leo Borlock’s heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first."

It's encouraging, thought provoking, uplifting, funny. Stargirl represents the kind of decency and unafraid individualism we all aspire to. I definitely recommend this one if you're a fan of YA.

Howard W. Hunter

I finished Thief of Time but I'm not quite sure what to think of it. It was...in a word...strange. And I'll leave it at that.

I am now reading the biography of Howard W. Hunter by Eleanor Knowles. I am loving it. I am learning so many fascinating things about him that I never would have even guessed. For example, did you know that he had only one sibling, a younger sister, and that for most of his life, his father was not a member of the church? Did you know that he once toured the Orient as the musical entertainment on a steam liner when he was a teenager? He fronted his own band and played the drums, the clarinet, the trumpet, the piano, and more? In his early twenties, he moved to California on his own? He spent most of his adult life in Cali? He had only two sons? (I find that encouraging.) He married in his mid-twenties and didn't go to law school until later in life?

As I read more about Howard W. Hunter, I feel a kinship with him.

Thief of Time

Right now I am reading Terry Pratchett's Thief of Time...or at least I would be if I could find it. (I misplaced it yesterday.) I've heard Pratchett's name tossed around for a while and usually his name and "very funny" are used in the same sentence. I've never read anything he's written so I took the opportunity to pick up a novel. So far I can only describe it as...strange. I'll let you know the final verdict.

Books of 2008

I decided to create another blog. This blog is dedicated to the books I am reading. I will make lists of books that I have read, review books that I feel strongly about, but mostly try to chronicle that books I am reading and when I read them. Books are such a huge part of my life that it only makes sense to keep track of when, what, and where. I have titled this blog The Book Orchard because of a quote by Henry Ward Beecher, which reads thus:

A book is a garden, an orchard, a storehouse, a party,
a company by the way, a counselor, a multitude of counselors."
--Henry Ward Beecher

So far this year (2008) I have read, beginning with the most recent:
Currently reading:
Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett
Book of Mormon

Read:
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Winter Gifts by Lois McMaster Bujold
Farmer in the Sky by Robert Heinlein
Skybreaker by Kenneth Oppel
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
Matilda Bone by Karen Cushman
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
His Dark Materials Trilogy by Phillip Pullman
A Train to Potevka by Mike Ramsdell
Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold
Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold
A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold
Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert