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Reading: As I said in a previous post, I read 44 books in 2013. Of those, 19 were Newbery Medal winners and I blogged the highlights of those the other day. What were the other 25 books?
Favorites:
The Romanov Bride by Richard Alexander, which I previously wrote about here.
The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club by Laurie Notaro
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (I blogged about those 3 here)
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - A magical novel that had me from the first page and kept me entranced until the end. I found myself sitting on the edge of the bathtub in a hotel room in the middle of the night just so I could find out how the story ended. I was mesmerized by the idea of a circus that arrives without notice and is only open at night. The vivid descriptions brought this fantastical circus to life and the multiple intriguing story lines kept me guessing how and when they were going to intertwine. The main plot line centers on two young magicians who have been trained since youth expressly for a competition between their instructors. Unaware of the competition and that ultimately only one can be left standing, the two fall in love. There are many characters but my favorite characters were the circus itself (named Le Cirque des Reves, which means Circus of Dreams), and the Reveurs, a group of devoted fans who identify themselves to each other by dressing in black and white (like the circus) with a dash of red. My book club enjoyed this book also, and the majority of us showed up to the discussion dressed in black and white with a bit of red.
Making Rounds with Oscar by David Dosa - This is a non-fiction book about Oscar, a cat who lives in a nursing home and only spends time with the patients who are about to die. Sound depressing? It really was not. The peace that this cat brought to the patients in their final moments was comforting.
Favorites:
The Romanov Bride by Richard Alexander, which I previously wrote about here.
The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club by Laurie Notaro
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (I blogged about those 3 here)
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - A magical novel that had me from the first page and kept me entranced until the end. I found myself sitting on the edge of the bathtub in a hotel room in the middle of the night just so I could find out how the story ended. I was mesmerized by the idea of a circus that arrives without notice and is only open at night. The vivid descriptions brought this fantastical circus to life and the multiple intriguing story lines kept me guessing how and when they were going to intertwine. The main plot line centers on two young magicians who have been trained since youth expressly for a competition between their instructors. Unaware of the competition and that ultimately only one can be left standing, the two fall in love. There are many characters but my favorite characters were the circus itself (named Le Cirque des Reves, which means Circus of Dreams), and the Reveurs, a group of devoted fans who identify themselves to each other by dressing in black and white (like the circus) with a dash of red. My book club enjoyed this book also, and the majority of us showed up to the discussion dressed in black and white with a bit of red.
Making Rounds with Oscar by David Dosa - This is a non-fiction book about Oscar, a cat who lives in a nursing home and only spends time with the patients who are about to die. Sound depressing? It really was not. The peace that this cat brought to the patients in their final moments was comforting.
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... and 19 others that there it is unlikely I will remember now 6-7 years later.
Until we read again,
Hallie
