Books of 2006

Talk about college life shooting a hole in your reading habits. For example, in 2006, I read 24 books. (That is shockingly pathetic and sad.) In the first half of 2005, I read 50. In the first half. That makes me sad. Well, I guess that is what comes of reading textbooks instead of good books. I will put my list and rate them even though I am ashamed. :)

1. "The Last of the Mohicans"-James Fenimore Cooper-3 stars-Why is this a classic? It is relatively interesting, but so unbelievable. These society girls are kidnapped by Indians literally 4 or 5 times and never die.

2. "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"-Mark Twain-4 stars-Now that I look at this I realize I actually listened to this on tape. Ha ha....Well, it was a very good book anyway. One always hears about it, and I thought I should actually read it instead of watching all the renditions Disney seems to do.


3. "Fahrenheit 451"-Ray Bradbury-4 stars-This is a 1984-esque book about, well, books. A life without books...Something to fight against!


4. "Something Wicked This Way Comes"-Ray Bradbury-3.5 stars-I still haven't seen the Disney movie they-I assume-based off of this. It was another off beat R. Bradbury book, given high marks because of the amount of quotes I put in my commonplace notebook out of it. Very intersting words and language!


5. "The Historian"-Elizabeth Kostova-4 stars-I generally don't read the New York Times Bestsellers, becauase they usually disappoint. However, it was about vampires, and I went through an interest in vampires stage, therefore I picked it up. Excellent story that kept me up pretty late reading!


6. "Frogs"-Ellin Beltz-4 stars-This was a non-fiction book about frogs with GREAT pictures. Here I learned that all toads are frogs, but not all frogs are toads. :)


7. "Angela's Ashes"-Frank McCourt-3 stars-Maybe I'm just insensitive, but this book only made me mad. First, the family just lets the Dad steal over and over. To top it off, the star of the book struggling to succeed in life only ends up becoming like his Dad. What a disappointing ending.


8. "The Making of a Woman Vet"-Sally Haddock-4 stars-Odd book choice for many I'm sure! However, it was well written and gave me a lot of insight into vet school and the life of a vet.

9. "Smith of Wooten Major"-Tolkien-4.5 stars-Tolkien never fails. Great short story!

10. "Farmer Giles of Ham"-Tokien-4.5 stars. Again, Tolkien never fails. Great short story!

11. "Out of the Silent Planet"-C.S. Lewis-4 stars-It has taken me FOREVER to finally read these, and as I am still on the third of the trilogy, it has taken FOREVER to finish. It isn't as if they are not good books...I think it is the amount of philosophy and theology in them. I suppose you could call it easy deep reading. Definantly reccommended, especially for science fiction fans.

12. "Cannery Row"-Steinbeck-3 stars-One of the first Steinbeck books I wasn't thrilled with. Going to Cannery Row over the summer gives it higher ratings though. :)

13. "Dark Tower and Other Stories"-C.S. Lewis-4.75-All I can say is read these books. They are absolutely amazing. I wanted to copy the whole stories and put them in my commonplace book! Just beware before reading "The Dark Tower". It is unfinished. I held off from reading it for a while, couldn't handle it, and gave in. The unfinished story plagued me for days.

14. "Perelandra"-C.S. Lewis-4 stars-Space trilogy continued. Ransom is my hero!

15. "Brave New World"-Aldous Huxley 2 stars-This should NOT be a classic. I only gave it two stars since I put a portion in my commonplace book. Bad writing, and after "1984" this was pathetic.

16. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"-J.K. Rowling 2 stars-Surprised? I didn't really enjoy the books. I didn't understand all the raving.

17. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"-J.K. Rowling 2 stars-Yet I continue.

18. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"-J.K. Rowling 2 stars-I finally stopped after this one.

19. "12 Trademarks of Great Literature"-J.F. Baldwin I go to a bible study this guy teaches and bought it at a worldview camp. Collection of essays, stories, etc. If you can't hear his lectures, try the book out.

20. "Night"-Elie Wiesel 4 stars-Well written book about World War II concentration camps.

21. "East of Eden"-Steinbeck 4.75 stars-This one beat "Grapes of Wrath"!! Considering how much I love that book, this one must be pretty good. It was set in World War II.

22. "Marley and Me"-Grogan 5 stars-I admit it. I'll say it. It made me cry. I never cry. I probably did, because I had just put my dog to sleep before reading this, and this is about the world's best dog-who was really Chuck. Anyway, it was a really good book! Oh, yeah, and about crying, that is a secret, okay? ;)

23. "The Red Pony"-Steinbeck 3 stars- It took me a while to get that this was a collection of two short stories. I am finishing the book, wondering when the two are supposed to connect. Suddenly, oh....They were relatively good. I like Steinbeck's novels much better!

24. "The Picture of Dorian Gray"-Oscar Wilde 3.5 stars-I have been waiting ages to read this book. It was fairly good, but not as good as I had made it in my mind.