Book Review #14

I just read Night by Elie Wiesel in less than a day.
I found it at Goodwill for 35 cents.
I know they read it in English class
And I heard it was really good.
So, I decided to read it.

The author is the winner of a Nobel Peace Prize.
The book is about a boy and his father's journey
Through the Nazi death camps.
Very depressing, but well written.
Once I got started I just couldn't stop reading.
I wish the end was a little longer and expanded on the after.
Again...another rough read.

4 out of 4 Sticky Notes.

Book Review #13

Indiana Place and Other Faces is what I finished reading last night.
Well...if you ask Tammy she would have a different story.
I think I actually read the last two stories
And the Epilogue about 5 times...maybe more.
I kept falling asleep!
I do remember her taking the book from me last night
And saying...honey...you read the epilogue last night.
Hee hee!

This is a book that I got about a year and a half ago.
It's a collection of columns written by Tom Keating.
He wrote for the Indianapolis Star and died a couple years ago.
So I would read this book here and there.

I am totally thinking about reading this out loud
To my newspaper kids next year.
Maybe one story a day.
He was a great writer and easy to read.

4 Out of 4 Sticky Notes if you're a journalism nerd!

Book Review #12

I just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns yesterday.
This was a book that our English Department nerds
Decided to read for our little book club that we started.
We always talk about books at lunch and thought
Why not read the same book and have an excuse
To get together, eat, drink and hang out?

It took a little time to pick a book
Because they wanted something that everyone would enjoy.
This book was a very tough one to get through.
All I have to say is that I'm glad that I am a woman living in America.
At some points this book was very difficult to read.
Sarah even said that she wasn't sure if she could continue reading it.
I told her she had to because it would make her aprreciate
Her life with her husband and little boy even more.

It was a very emotional book.
And I am impressed that it was written by a man
From the voice of two different women.
It makes me want to read his other book...The Kite Runner.

4 out of 4 Sticky Notes.

Book Review #11

I just finished A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg.
I love Fannie Flagg.
What a great writer.
This book was short and sweet.
It was a quick read and a feel good book.

It's about a guy named Oswald.
He's sick and has to leave Chicago or he'll die.
He goes down to Alabama to live with some random people.
The whole experience changes his life.
He meets great people and have great times together.
At the end this book just makes you smile.

4 out of 4 Sticky Notes.

Book Review #10

3,05746 pages later...
I finally finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!
I know, I know...it's about time Care.

This was a great book!
It wrapped everything up so nicely.
I didn't really like the Epilogue....eh.
BUT...I can't wait to see the movie with all of the battles and stuff.
I couldn't believe how many people died.
I don't want to ruin anything for anyone!

I'm really glad that I read all of these though.
Now I know what all the hype was about.
I'm glad that I didn't have to wait for each book to come out though!
OMG...I would die!
I can be patient for the movies.
Now what the heck am I going to read?

4 out of 4 Sticky Notes.

Book Review #9

Harry Plopper and the Half-Blooded Prince...
Wow...what a great book!
The Order of the Phoenix was sooo long!
And I hated the movie.
But this one totally made up for it.

I loved how went back into everyone's memories
And told the beginnings of Lord Voldermort.
Sooo interesting and it just starts tying everything together.

The end battle was great and I could picture it all in my mind.
I can't wait to see this movie!

I am already on Page 75 of the last book.
I'm reading it slowly so I can soak it all in.
I was reading during my plan hour today
And it got really good.
Then the bell rang!
And I slammed the book down!
I was so mad at the bell!
I can't believe my Harry Potter adventure is almost over!
I will have to read the first one over again since it's been so long!

So...my favorite HP books...#4, 6 and 1.
And I heard #7 will be on my list too once I finish.
I'll keep you posted.

4 out of 4 Sticky Notes.
Actually for this book I used a tag from a new shirt!
Ha ha!

Book Review #8

Harry Potter and The Order Of The Phoenix.
Could this book be ANY longer?
Seriously!
870 pages!
It only took me about 3 months to finish it.

I agree with my English nerd friends.
Harry is really dark in this one.
Kind of depressing really.
It seems like the entire book
Was mish-mosh until the last 100 pages!

Of course, this was fun to read
But for Pete's sake
It didn't need to be that long.
At least The Goblet of Fire was exciting.
It was long and exciting
Whereas this one just went on and on.

2 out of 4 Sticky Notes.

Book Review #7

I just read Rosie O'Donnell's new book
Celebrity Detox
In two days.
I'm such a nerd.

People would think why would you read that?
It's interesting to me.
I love Rosie.
I love her comedy, her openess and her honesty.
I love how she raises her kids
Even though she has a lot of help.
Hello? Tammy and I have a lot of help.
Like Rosie says...it takes a village.

I thought her book showed the real Rosie.
There is the TV and stage Rosie
And then there is the real Rosie.
I've seen the real her on the cruise
And through reading her blog like an obsessed fan.

The story behind The View stunned me.
I knew there was trouble, but wow.
I couldn't imagine dealing with all of that stress.
Donald Trump
Elisabeth H.
Barbara Walters
I couldn't imagine the stress of fighting
And then coming home to parent and live a normal life.

The parts about Barbara Streisand went fast.
Only because I can't stand her.
She makes me want to rip my ears out.
Sorry Rosie.

It wasn't the most well written novel I've ever read
But it was entertaining and insightful.
The way she thinks about her children and leading a normal life
Made me appreciate my own life more.
The normalness of it.
Two mom household...how can that be normal?
It is to us...it just is...
We run to practices, eat dinner together, do homework
Fight, laugh, yell, hug, read and watch TV together.
What's more normal than that?

"If you fake life, then you have damaged the social and
biological fabric on which we all depend, for breath and love."

I love this.
It makes you think.

"Idolization can be blind, but it can also be an expression
of your highest hopes for yourself, and a reminder
of what you need to strive for."

This only makes me want to strive for better and live
A happy life.

3.5 out of 4 Sticky Notes.

Book Review #6

I LOVED Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire!
Totally loved it.
I just couldn't read it fast enough.
I finally finished it today during lunch.
What a great adventure book.
So many twists and turns.
So many colorful characters.
Death.
Wow.
I was really entertained.
Can't wait to watch the movie now.
I have already started reading The Order of the Phoenix.
I can now say that I am a big Harry Potter nerd.

4 out of 4 Sticky Notes.

Book Review #5

I just finished reading Speak by Laurie Halse Anserson.
Tammy asked me to read it for her.
She was thinking about reading it to her class
And wanted my opinion on it before she read it.
A student gave her the book
And said it would be good to read.

I liked this book a lot.
It is written from the point of view of a high school freshman.
As far as dialogue goes...she barely ever speaks.
But the book revolves around the conversations
In her head.

She is an outcast in school and in life.
She wasn't always an outcast though.
The reader finds out why during the third quarter of the book.
She was at a party, was raped and called the cops.
Everyone at the party thought she just wanted to get everyone in trouble.
But really...no one knew the real story.

This book is very revealing and written wisely.
It is humorous in parts, and serious in others.
I felt very connected to the main character.

4 out of 4 Sicky Notes.

Book Review #4

While in a waiting room today
I finished Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Finally.

Out of the three Potter books I've read
This is the one I have liked the least.
It seemed boring to me.
Almost as if nothing happened
Throughout the entire book
Until the last 100 pages.

But...has that stopped me from reading on?
Nope.
After I finished reading
I went to the washroom
Came back
And opened up the Goblet of Fire.

Now this next book is over 700 pages long.
So, it might be a while before there's another review.

2 out of 4 Sticky Notes.

Book Review #3

Oh yes...I finished another book!
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Yes...I know...it's book #2.
I'm a little behind the times.

I loved this book!
At first I thought the Harry Potter series was for kids
But really it's for all ages!
What a great adventure book.
Good, clean characters and a twisted ending.

I like to think of the book from the author's view.
What an imagination J.K. Rowling has.
Her writing is so visual
And it was like I was watching a movie
The entired time I was reading.

I hated putting this book down.
My family thought I was nuts.
I have already started book #3
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
At this rate I should be on book #7 by 2009.

4 out of 4 Sticky Notes.

Book Review #2

I just finished reading The Overfed Head by Rob Stevens.
It was short and sweet.
Some of the stuff he says I think is crap.

Keep in mind where I got this book from.
It was free.
Someone was passing it out at the Pride Parade.

When reading, I felt as though he was making fun of me
For having gastric bypass.
His solution to weight loss...
Eat whatever you want.
Just pay attention when you're eating and eat small amounts.
Duh.
But I don't agree with the eat whatever you want bit.

To lose weight you have to pay attention to what is going in your mouth.
Ok...so I love cheesecake and cookies.
I'll eat them every time I'm hungry...but only little bits.

That's not going to work!
I skimmed through the end of this book
Only because it was irritating me.
This is the only weight loss book I've ever read in my life.
And it's going on the shelf
Unless someone wants to borrow it?

1 out of 4 Sticky Notes.
Actually, I used a ripped in half receipt as a bookmark for this book.
Eh...whatever.

Book Review

I finally finished reading 3 books!
I'm such a random reader.
Maybe it's ADD...I don't know
I just keep picking up books
And keep switching off.
I just can't read one straight through.

I thought I would give a little review
Of the books once I complete them.
I love to read
And it's fun to share.
Maybe you'll like these books too.
Why do I feel like Lamar Burton from Reading Rainbow?

My ratings will be out of a total of 4 sticky notes.
Why sticky notes?
Because that's what I use for bookmarks these days.
Plus, it's almost 1 a.m. and I can't think of anything creative right now.

Chicks Up Front - by Sara Holbrook
This was a book given to me by my friend Kelly.
Her mom is actually the author of these poems.
She has written a ton of poetry books and speaks all over the world.
I met her last December and she's a pretty hip chick!
I liked reading this book because it was a quick read.
The poems were short and sweet
And it totally worked into my random reading style.
BJ and I even checked out one of her books from our library
That was geared more towards the younger crowd.
Overall, I really enjoyed the poems...and I'm not a poetry lover!
3 out of 4 Sticky Notes

Journalists Who Made History - by James Satter
Now I found this book in the juvanile section at the library
When I was looking for books on photography for B.J.
I know a lot about the history of journalism
But this had some quick profiles of some really, old, dead dudes.
Dudes and Chicks who fought for their First Amendment rights.
This book featured eight different journalists from Hearst to Murrow.
I hated reading about history when I was in high school.
And now I enjoyed it because I was reading it for me and my own knowledge.

After reading this book, I have one question:
Where are the Woodward and Bernstein type reporters today?
After their investigation of Watergate
They had 4 file cabinets full of notes, interviews and facts.
And look at what happened after all of their hard work.
They changed history.
Paris whining in jail
Rosie's daughter playing dress up in army gear
Page 1 news?
Don't think so.
This is one of my goals every year...make better reporters.

For the non-journalism dork, this book would put you to sleep.
I found it interesting, but not completely entertaining.
2 out of 4 Sticky Notes.

The Freedom Writers Diary - by Freedom Writers
I'll admit...I saw the movie first.
I'm a teacher so of course I'm a sucker for teacher movies.
I cried when I saw the movie and I cried at the end of this book.
It was written by teenagers living in a rough part of California.
What Erin Gruwell did for those kids was amazing.
I highly recommend this book to all.
Read it and learn.
Read it and act.
Maybe if everyone worked together like them
We would have a better world.
I would like to read Erin's book coming from her perspective
As a teacher.
I want to know where the kids are now.
I want to know if Erin Gruwell is as ambitious now as she was then.
I want to know how many teachers have followed in her footsteps
And spread the love.
4 out of 4 Sticky Notes.