Just After Sunset

By Stephen King...oh, how I have missed you Mr. King.  I read Under the Dome recently...but haven't read a lot of Stephen King for awhile.  I think my last book before Under the Dome may have been Bag of Bones or Everything's Eventual.  I kind of checked out of King for awhile.  I recently picked up Just After Sunset to listen to on a roadtrip.  WOW!  I was definitely freaked out and reminded of why I love his writing.  There were a few of the stories that I just couldn't believe...and I recommend listening to it on a trip...the actors who read do an incredible job!

Room

By Emma Donoghue...what a book.  I really can't say much about it except if you are a parent, this will probably take you places the book did not take me.  I am not a parent, and while I thought a lot of it was moving...I think a parent would definitely feel differently about the story.  This is told from the point of view of a little boy...all of the explanations are from a child's point of view.  Maybe that is what makes this book so compelling.  Regardless...be warned...you may need tissues while reading this book.

At Home: A Short Story of the Private Life

By Bill Bryson...I love Bill Bryson.  He has a way of telling you things that aren't always particularly interesting...but he can make them come alive.  Bryson writes of the home...where did some of this stuff come from, rooms in the house, origins, our activities in the house...and some of our food and behavior.  In much the same way A Short History of Nearly Everything grabbed me...this book did as well.  At times funny, at times heartfelt, and most of the time very informative.  I recommend!

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

By Max Brooks...where are more books like this?  I LOVED this book.  The story is told from several points of view by a reporter who wants to learn more about the war and the people it effected.  This book is presented as fact...and is recorded as if it were history.  There are several characters the narrator meets and interviews to find out about the war, survival, and what is going on now that the war is over.  I listened to the book...was incredibly sad when it was over.  HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

I, Pearl Hart: A Western Story

By Jane Candia Coleman...a story about a woman who as a young girl falls for the wrong man and is swept away from her home and all she knows for the adventure of a lifetime.  She is raised in a strict proper Victorian home in Toledo, OH and ends up all over the place.  This book takes place primarily in Arizona. She is the Bandit Queen and does some time for robbing a stagecoach.  She goes through many adventures but ends up in a good place.  Great story, lots of fun...and many places were you want to smack her.

Catching Up...which is what I feel like I am ALWAYS doing

So...yes, I have been reading...no, I haven't been posting.  If I thought last quarter was busy...it did not prepare me for this quarter...I am actually more busy!  Anyway, I am going to post SEVERAL books I have been reading.  I hope to make this more of a weekly update than a monthly one...but apologies.

Beastly

By Alex Finn...a retelling of a classic fairy tale...Beauty and the Beast only this one takes place in New York City, and the beast is a teenage boy who has it all, looks, money, and popularity.  He meets up with a witch who decides to make his outward appearance look just like his insides...and he ends up looking like a beast.  He has two years to have someone fall in love with him and kiss him to break the spell.  I really enjoyed the story.  It was fresh and new.  I can't wait to see the film that has been made based on this book.  I recommend this to teens and adults who enjoy a good romance and reading about someone finding themselves.

The Widow of the South

By Robert Hicks...recommended to me by several people I decided to listen to this book.  The characters are voiced differently and the book focuses on the town of Franklin, TN during the Civil War and after.  The McGavock farm is made into a Confederate hospital just before the battle that takes place in Franklin, TN...there the woman of the house, Carrie McGavock, meets men and boys who have been injured fighting the war.  Several years later a wealthy landowner decides to plow his field which is full of the dead from the war...Carrie makes a decision that will change the rest of her life.  I was moved by the different stories...while this was fiction I believed many of the reasons men and boys fight were addressed.  There were both Union and Confederate points of view.  There were people of the town whose lives were interrupted by the war.  It was a great book and I highly recommend!

A Modern Archives Reader

Basic Readings on Archival Theory and Practice...by Maygene F. Daniels and Timothy Walch.  Admittedly not for the average reader.  This book was published in 1984 and reprinted without updating in 2004.  There are many issues in archives that are not addressed, mainly the computer, digital records, etc.  But, as a book introducing one to the how and why of archives, this is a good beginning text.  Unfortunately if someone in the archival field wrote a book to update it is unlikely to sell many documents...better off e-publishing I guess.

You Slay Me

(Aisling Grey, Guardian, Book 1) By Katie MacAlister...I read the 4th book of this series because a library patron mentioned she was listening to it and LOVED the witty humor and fun subject material.  I decided to read the 4th book as well and loved it.  Once I finished reading book 4 I decided to go and start at the beginning to learn about the characters and enjoy it from the beginning.  Not a disappointment at all.  Still fun and witty.  Love Jim!  He is the most awesome character.  Love the steamy scenes between Drake and Aisling...if you blush easily, this may not be for you.  I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Public History

Essays from the Field edited by James B Gardner and Peter S LaPaglia...what a great book for someone going into the field of Public History.  Several essays on the different jobs, controversies, and issues facing those in the field.  Written by people already in the field they discuss how they arrived at their jobs and some of the challenges and rewards.  Loved the book....but would not recommend to the average reader.  If you love history and wonder what sorts of jobs you could manage with that love of history, this is the book for you!

Mickey Mouse History and Other Essays on American Memory

By Mick Wallace...Just finished this collection of essays for class.  This author takes us through historical sites and the different ways they are portrayed and why.  His bone is with those who would simplify history because of fear or not giving the public enough credit.  He is really critical of Walt Disney and his brand of history.  Makes you think about our experience with history.  What have we been told?  What do we believe?  Do we care if we aren't told the whole story.  I think Mike Wallace thinks we don't care.  We would rather have the HAPPILY EVER AFTER ending.  What do you think?  It was definitely a lot to think about.  Towards the end, Wallace talks about the government's attempt to sugar coat our history...or erase from memory things that have happened that our nation is not particularly proud of.  Is this okay?  How can we as a nation learn from our mistakes and not repeat the mistakes of others if we don't know what they are?  I will admit, I wasn't a fan of Wallace's writing...but he had some things to say that I found though provoking.

The Passage

By Justin Cronin...What a book!  I was mesmerized.  Yes, I should not be reading for fun...so I was listening to it on my CD player.  I managed to drive more than I needed to just to listen to the book more.  It was a great mixture of horror and suspense.  I would say it was like The Stand in many ways...but very different in others.  It is a vampire story...it does have religious overtones.  I wasn't sure how I would feel about that...but it wasn't so bad.  This is not a TWILIGHT style vampire story...this is more Resident Evil meets the apocalypse.  The saddest part was that it will be a series...and I have to wait to read (or listen) to more.  However, the book does wrap up okay...there is definitely more to come, but it ends well.  I recommend...but not to the weak of stomach...it can be graphic in places!

Slavery and Public History

The Tough Stuff of American Memory...by James Oliver Horton and Lois E. Horton.  Incredible book about a difficult subject.  I really enjoyed reading the different essays concerning Slavery in the United States and how it has been avoided and portrayed.  There are still controversies surrounding how it is told and who will suffer because of it.  I think if anything I took away a greater understanding of the struggles historical homes and buildings have when trying to portray an accurate depiction of history.  It is sad that in an age where it seems we have come so far...we still can't have an honest and open discussion about slavery and its existence here in America.

National Archives

America's Ministry of Documents, 1934-1968 by Donald R McCoy...read for my class in Archives.  I found this book to be interesting in the sense that it talked about the beginnings of our National Archives.  All of the key players, when, how much, how the collection grew, and how it was managed are all included in this book.  For someone interested in the history of our document collection, this is interesting.  As a nation, we started collecting our documents early but managing and filing so that people could look at them didn't start until the 1930s.  This book is more interesting for those in the field, but holds some interesting information about how the National Archives building in DC was built and managed.

The Lowell Experiment

Public History in a Postindustrial City...by Cathy Stanton...I had high hopes when starting this book.  Right away the reader knows that this was a research project.  She lays out her research and her observations.  She starts with a short introduction to the field of public history...and continues to talk more in depth about her research.  It would have been nice to get a little more background on Lowell, MA.  There is a map and some discussion, but for readers like myself, I had to go to the internet to learn more about Lowell.  She critiques the tours, the layout, and the format.  I found the appendix with her physical research results most fascinating.  I think for something to introduce some of the difficulties of an interpreter of history, this is a good read.  If you are not in the field, you would only find some of the read of interest.  I did read the entire book...for a class...and I would say it held my interest but she had so many referrals to other chapters and writings not in the book at times it was confusing.

The Minister's Daughter

By Julie Hearn...This book takes place in 1645 England with a flash foward in 1692 Salem.  The daughters of a local minister accuse a healer and her grandmother of witchcraft.  This book is filled with interesting remedies and spells, some of the folklore of the time like pixies and fairies and the influence this has on society.  Lies the daughters tell about the healer and her grandmother follow the youngest daughter into Salem.  There are some great twists and turns, I really enjoyed the book.  This book is for young adults, teens, and adults.  I have always been fascinated by this part of our history...I would like to read more about the actual history.

Reading in 2010

So I went to Goodreads...I was curious about the number of books I read in 2010...I hit 102 books in 2010!  I was so excited.  I always feel like I am slacking in the reading department.  Now, admittedly I have been listening to books more than I ever have.  I am not sure if that is cheating or not!  Also, just heard this morning that an author has been authorized to write a Sherlock Holmes novel.  Anthony Horowitz, author of the teen series Alex Rider.  I am excited and can't wait for that to come out!

Anyway, I hope to do better about blogging and keeping up with the comments on my page!  I will try and check that more often. As always, I love recommendations and love to hear about what you are reading!

Sacred Ground

Americans and Their Battlefields by Edward Tabor Linenthal...it is back to class.  I am reading a lot of books right now, but this one was assigned and had to be read in a week.  Linenthal visits the history of a few of our battlefields; Lexington and Concord, The Alamo, Gettysburg, The Little Bighorn, and Pearl Harbor.  Each of the chapters read like a biography of the battlefield.  When was it born, how did the history develop, and where is it now (when the book was published)?  In each of the chapters you can read about what happened (both the reality and the myth), the symbols or myths that still exist today, the interest groups or stakeholders in the space, and the controversies that still exist today.  For a student of history, this was a great book to read.  I had never really thought about battlefields.  I actually have never visited any of the battlefields.  I guess I had always thought of them as a place to remember those who fought there...your family, your ancestors...not a place to go on vacation.  But, there are many unmarked battlefields in the United States...so I am sure I have walked on a couple of them!  Great ideas, interesting thoughts and I really enjoyed the reading.  As a side note, our professor arranged to have a phone conversation with him in class and it was incredible.  We asked questions and got a little background on why he wrote the book and what he would add to the book today.  I recommend to those of you who love history out there!

Happy New Year 2011

Okay...it is a few weeks late.  One of my New Year's resolutions should have been to keep up with this blog better than I do.  Once a week...at least once a week I should update what I am reading.  So...I will need to get you caught up!

My audio over the holidays was RUN by Ann Patchett.  I had read mixed reviews of the book, but decided to listen to one CD and if it didn't grab me, I would stop.  Needless to say I listened to the WHOLE book.  I liked the book, I liked the characters...some of the criticism involved the reality of the characters...and I felt like there was a realism to them.  Now, I did disagree with some of the directions the book took...but it did make it messy and complicated enough to keep me wondering.  I would recommend it.

Next...I read Freedom by Jonathan Franzen.  I had been anxiously awaiting this book.  I was a huge fan of THE CORRECTIONS.  This proved to be just as messy and involved.  I saw the development of the characters...I liked them, I hated them.  I couldn't believe some of the things they did.  The book follows a married couple, Walter and Patty Berglund.  Their courtship, their marriage, their kids, their friends, their neighbors....all very interesting, twisted and complicated.  I laughed out loud, I felt uncomfortable and I am not entirely sure I was satisfied with the ending...but all in all a great read.

Finally, I caught up on my teen reading by reading Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia.  It was on my to read list and I figured I could squeeze it in before my classes started.  Supernatural powers are at work when Lena and Ethan work.  They live in a small Southern town.  Ethan has been counting the days until he can leave the town when he meets Lena.  Yes, they are in high school...but odd powers are at work.  Lena has come to the small town of Gatlin for a reason...and Ethan is both intrigued and smitten by her.  Meet the fun cast of the town...the Caster family, Ethan's father, their housekeeper, the town librarian...it was creepy and definitely left you hanging...yes there is another book in the series Beautiful Darkness...I will have to check it out as well!