November Book Update

Finished!!!

I listened to all of these books on audiotapes.  I really enjoyed it.  I think I am addicted!

• Stardust by Gaiman, Neil- I saw the movie first.  I really liked the movie, so I wanted to read the book.  I ended up liking the movie better, possibly because I saw it first.  But the action in the movie was much more compelling.  The book was kind of anticlimactic.  Still a good read.  I would be interested in what other people thought about the book vs movie.
• The School of Essential Ingredients by Bauermeister, Erica- I was disappointed by this book.  It took leaps I couldn’t take with it.  Saying that food had this amazing, huge effect on people.  This coming from a food blogger- right?!  But really it was so over the top.  I think a good meal is a wonderful thing to be cherished, but I also think recipes are important.  I think that good meals can communicate how much you care for someone, but so can talking.  This book made it sound like the food was more important than almost everything else going on.
• Island Beneath the Sea by Allende, Isabel- I really enjoyed this book.  It is historical fiction set in pre-Independence Haiti and then moved to New Orleans.  The character development was fantastic.  You really understand the different character’s perspectives.  I knew very little about that time period, so I learned a lot.  Allende does a wonderful job creating the world that she transports you to.  I highly recommend this book.

To Be Read

• Where the Red Fern Grows by Rawls, Wilson
• The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Diaz, Junot
• A Walk in My World: International Short Stories about Youth edited by Mazer, Anne
• The Color of Magic by Pratchett, Terry
• Jane Eyre by Bronte, Charlotte
• The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Doyle, Arthur Conan
• The Space Between Us by Umrigar, Thirty
• The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories by Gilman, Charlotte Perkins
• Orlando by Woolf, Virginia
• Tropic of Orange by Yamashita, Karen Tei
• The Turn of the Screw by James, Henry
• The Other Side of Paradise by Chin, Stacyann
• The Ice Princess by Lackberg, Camilla
• Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Flagg, Fannie
• Helen Keller: The Story of My Life by Keller, Helen
• Like Water for Chocolate by Esquivel, Laura
• The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Lee, Jennifer
• The Namesake by Lahiri, Jhumpa

What books have you read lately?  Have you read any of these books?  I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions.