The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Loved it. Gaiman is my favorite author, so the chances I would like it were high. It's a kid's book, so it's a quick, easy read, but it's plenty enjoyable for adults.

The Engines of God by Jack McDevitt

Mediocre science fiction, to be sure, but I enjoyed it.

The Shack by Wm. Paul Young

Meh. Maybe it's just too allegorical for my tastes, but this one didn't do anything for me. I didn't hate it, but... meh.

Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? by Thomas Kohnstamm

I liked it a lot, even though the author is clearly a fool.

The City by Joel Kotkin

I liked it. It's a short, concise overview of cities. Definitely a survey book, not anything indepth, but it's a good introduction.

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

I enjoyed it. I find Taoism interesting, and this is an interesting way to approach it.

Elsewhere, U.S.A. by Dalton Conley

Subtitled, "How we got from the company man, family dinners, and the affluent society to the home office, blackberry moms, and economic anxiety."

Meh. Interesting enough to read, but I'm not sure I'm convinced.

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

Loved it! I didn't expect to love this book - romance during a hostage situation - but I did. The author is incredibly talented at working with language. For much of what I've read lately, language is a tool. In this book, language is an art. It was like reading an orchestra. And I loved the story as well. I'd never read anything by her before this one, and now I have two of her books in my to-be-read pile.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous. Highly recommended.

This is the non-fiction story about Greg Mortenson, who stumbled into a small, remote Pakistani village after a failed attempt to climb K2 in 1993. Separated from his group, sick, and exhausted, Greg was impressed by the kindness he received. While there he saw kids sitting outside on the frozen ground, writing in the dirt with sticks, trying to have school without a building or even a teacher. Wanting to do something to repay the kindness, he promised to return and build them a school. With that promise, his life took a sudden turn. He did build that school, and then went on to form the Central Asia Institute. According to the website, "As of 2008, Central Asia Institute has successfully established 64 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, which provide (or have provided) education to over 25,000 students, with a emphasis on girls’ education."

Very inspirational book. Well written. Interesting. I can't say enough good things about it. Highly recommended.

"In times of war, you often hear leaders - Christian, Jewish, and Muslim - saying 'God is on our side.' But that isn't true. In war, God is on the side of refugees, widows, and orphans." (page 239)
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Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Meh.

I read Twilight because it was picked for this month's book club, though I've been thinking of picking it up for a while now anyway. I enjoy young adult novels in general, and I love vampires, so I expected to love this. And I didn't. I'm so disappointed. Three-quarters of it was boring, just the two of them (mostly Bella since it was from her perspective) pining over each other. That's it. I hate romance novels, and that's basically all this was - a Harlequin romance novel without all the sex. Blech.

It's also poorly written. Very poorly written. And there is no real character development. Bella is beyond annoying, and all she does is pine after Edward. That's it.

I did somewhat enjoy the parts where we finally find out how the vampire thing works, and the parts where Edward's family came into play. I sort of liked the last part where things were actually happening. So it wasn't a total loss, and I didn't loathe it or anything like that, but... I was disappointed.

Not recommended. I'll skip the sequels and also the movie unless it gets fabulous reviews (based on the limited previews I've seen, though, it looks pretty bad).

This review from Amazon is pretty much a perfect reflection of my thoughts on the book: Click Me.

Just added!: For highly entertaining chapter synopses. I suggest To Try a New Sword on a Chance Wayfarer.
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Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver

Meh. I had high expectation for Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life since I'm a fan of eating locally (even if I don't consistently apply what I support...). The book, however, really wasn't all that interesting of a read. Also, she seems to be seriously naive about her approach being able to support our current global population. Like I said, I'm a fan of the approach, but I recognize it as a luxury of my high socioeconomic status and national residence.
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Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin

Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life is pretty good. I'm not a huge Steve Martin fan, but I'd heard his autobiography was actually quite interesting, so I decided to read it. It did not disappoint; it was actually fairly interesting to see his persistence that lead to his rise to fame. He worked hard to get where he is.

Highly recommended if you're a Steve Martin fan. Moderately recommended if you're not a Steve Martin fan but find autobiographies or performing arts interesting.
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Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born by Tina Cassidy

Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born is fabulous. I found it fascinating. The author discusses the history of approaches to (and consequences of) childbirth over the ages. She focuses primarily on the Western world, though some non-Western cultures get minimal treatment.
Highly recommended.
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The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

The Memory Keeper's Daughter was pretty good. Tragically sad, but good. A doctor delivers his own babies - twins - at his office during a snowstorm in the 1960s. One baby has Down syndrome, and the doctor instructs the nurse to take the baby to an institution. This decision doesn't come out of nowhere - he had a sister with a heart condition who died young and he can't bear the thought of what a disabled child would do to his wife. When his wife wakes up from the anesthesia, he tells her the baby died. The nurse, however, can't bear to leave the baby at the institution and takes off with her, raising her as her own daughter. From there the story takes off, following the years as the two families deal with the consequences of that one choice the father made.

Recommended.

Bliss by O.Z. Livaneli

I've totally been slacking on updating this blog. It's too much effort to go back and update on what I've read the past several months (er, half year), so let's just start fresh and new where I am now, okay?

Bliss is excellent. It is set in Turkey, and the author is Turkish. The book is beautifully written, though painful to read because of what happens to the main characters, the 15-year-old Meryem in particular (she is raped by her uncle and has thus "shamed her family"), though her cousin is also traumatized by war. However, it ends with hope.

The novel is a fascinating look at Turkey, where modern and traditional worlds clash. It was a quick read for me, and I found the language flowing and enjoyable.

I highly recommend this book