In My Mailbox: lots of books

Time for another vlog! This time around, I'm going to share with you the books I read between December 30 and January 6 and the books I bought so far in 2010. Links (to GoodReads.com) for the books can be found below...



As mentioned in the vlog:
books read
in 2009
Vicki Lewish Thompson, Jill Shalvis & Rhonda Nelson: Better Naughty Than Nice
Sarah Mayberry: She's Got It Bad
in 2010
J.K. Rowling: The Tales of Beedle the Bard

books bought
Melissa Walker: Violet on the Runway
A.J. Jacobs: The Year of Living Biblically
Dia Reeves: Bleeding Violet
Christa Holder Ocker: auf Wiedersehen
Maggie Stiefvater: Shiver
Agatha Christie Death on the Nile (graphic novel/comic)
Nicholas Sparks: Dear John (movie tie-in)

challenges mentioned
World Religion Challenge
THIB! 20 Minute Book Club Challenge

And an addition, because it arrived in the mail on Saturday, but I didn't get it until today:
Jennifer R. Hubbard: The Secret Year

Note: In Your Mailbox is hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren. For more IMM posts and to post your link go her blog.

year's end summary - part 1: books read

Wow, that was a close call... I can't believe I read so "few" books - compared to previous years...

A short note on the side: I will update the links as I write the reviews. I'm still waaay behind, sorry!

1) Oscar Wilde: A Woman of No Importance
2) Patricia Davids: Military Daddy
3) Linwood Barclay: No Time For Goodbye (audio)
4) Meg Cabot: Jinx
5) Vicki Myron: Dewey
6) Marie Ferrarella: Protecting His Witness
7) Natalie Anderson: Bought - One Night, One Marriage
8) Suzanne Brockmann: Prince Joe
9) Marjane Satrapi: Persepolis 1
10) Johann Maier: Judentum & Judentum - Reader
11) Jill Shalvis & Jacquie D'Alessandro & Jamie Sobrato: Heating Up The Holidays
12) Merline Lovelace: Devlin and the Deep Blue Sea
13) Marie Ferrarella: The Bride With No Name
14) Rutu Modan: Exit Wounds
15) Naomi Alderman: Disobedience
16) MaryJanice Davidson: Undead and Unappreciated
17) Nalini Singh: Slave to Sensation
18) Agatha Christie: The Mirror Crack'd From Side To Side
19) Robert Fate: Baby Shark's Beaumont Blues
20) Meg Cabot: How To Be Popular
21) Robert Fate: Baby Shark's High Plains Redemption
22) Marco von Münchhausen: Zeit gewinnen mit dem inneren Schweinehund (time management)
23) Lori Wilde: Lethal Exposure
24) Marjane Satrapi: Persepolis 2
25) Eun-Ah Park: Sweet & Sensitive 4
26) Eun-Ah Park: Sweet & Sensitive 5
27) Tess Gerritsen: The Mephisto Club
28) Meg Cabot: The Princess Diares - To The Nines
29) Harry Kemelman: Sunday The Rabbi Stayed Home
30) Elie Wiesel: Night
31) Jill Shalvis: Flashpoint
32) Jennifer LaBrecque: Yule Be Mine
33) Cara Summers: Come Toy With Me
34) Leslie Kelly: Slow Hands
35) Abby Gaines: Married By Mistake
36) Peter O'Donnell & Jim Holdaway: Modesty Blaise - The Gabriel Set-Up
37) Beth Andrews: A Not-So-Perfect Past
38) Sam Savage: Firmin
39) Tachibana Higuchi: Alice Academy Vol. 4
40) Tachibana Higuchi: Alice Academy Vol. 5
41) Gosho Aoyama: Detective Conan 15
42) Maju Sakai: Rockin' Heaven Vol. 2
43) Gosho Aoyama: Case Closed Vol. 16
44) Gosho Aoyama: Case Closed Vol. 17
45) Gosho Aoyama: Case Closed Vol. 18
46) Tomoko Hayakawa: Perfect Girl Vol. 6
47) Maki Minami: Special A Vol. 1
48) Maki Minami: Special A Vol. 2
49) Maki Minami: Special A Vol. 3
50) Yuna Kagesaki: Cheeky Vampire Vol. 7
51) Lawrence Kaplan: House Of Ghosts
52) Yuna Kagesaki: Cheeky Vampire Vol. 8
53) Jong Eun Lee: Shi Hwa Mong Vol.1
54) Susan Crosby: The Rancher's Surprise Marriage
55) Jacqueline Baird: Marriage At His Convenience
56) Tomoko Hayakawa: Perfect Girl Vol. 7
57) Tomoko Hayakawa: Perfect Girl Vol. 8
58) Maju Shinjo: Kaikan Phrase Vol. 5
59) Tomoko Hayakawa: Perfect Girl Vol. 9
60) Kristan Higgins: Just One Of The Guys
61) Tachibana Higuchi: Alice Academy Vol. 6
62) Tachibana Higuchi: Alice Academy Vol. 7
63) Karen Tei Yamashita: Tropic Of Orange
64) Allison Leigh: A Weaver Wedding
65) Janice Kay Johnson: Snowbound
66) Cormac McCarthy: The Road
67) Jill Shalvis: Flashback
68) Merline Lovelace: A Question Of Intent
69) M. Reufsteck/J. Stoeckle: Die kleine House-Apotheke
70) Charlotte Douglas: Mystique
71) Elizabeth Young: Asking For Trouble
72) Jill Shalvis: Instant Attraction
73) Carly Phillips: Hot Property
74) Dani Sinclair: Secret Cinderella
75) Julie James: Just The Sexiest Man Alive
76) Donna Kauffman: The Cinderella Rules
77) Susan Elizabeth Phillips: Heaven, Texas
78) Susan Elizabeth Phillips: Lady Be Good
79) Nalini Singh: Visions Of Heat
80) Rachel Caine: Glass Houses
81) Patricia Davids: A Military Match
82) Nick Sagan - Idlewild
83) D.D. Barrant - Dying Bites
84) Jill Shalvis - Storm Front
85) Sara Orwig: Wyoming Marriage
86) Friedrich Duerrenmatt: Die Panne
87) MaryJanice Davidson: Undead and Unreturnable
88) Jay Asher: 13 Reasons Why
89) Will Eisner: The Spirit
90) Alan Bennett: The Uncommon Reader
91) a great book you'll hear more about as soon as possible!
92) a great book you'll hear more about as soon as possible! (not the same as #91 in October!)
93) Martin Millar: Lonely Werewolf Girl
94) Cassandra Clare: City of Bones
95) Gareth P. Jones: The Thornthwaite Inheritance
96) Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child: Reliquary (audio)
97) Yasushi Inoue: Memoirs of the Priest Honkaku
98) P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast: Marked
99) Agatha Christie: Star Over Bethlehem
100) Gene Luen Yang: American Born Chinese
101) Hester Browne: The Little Lady Agency
102) Sylvia Plath: The Bell Jar
103) Ralf Schmitz: Schmitz' Katze
104) Sarah Mayberry: She's Got It Bad
105) Vicki Lewis Thompson, Jill Shalvis & Rhonda Nelson: Better Naughty Than Nice

December summary

Added
148) Danielle Joseph: Shrinking Violet (German holiday swap - Buecherblogs)
149) Elizabeth Scott: Living Dead Girl (Book Blogger Holiday Swap)
150) Cindy Pon: Silver Phoenix (Book Blogger Holiday Swap)
151) Hester Browne: The Little Lady Agency
152) Haruki Murakami: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
153) Alyson Noel: Evermore (mixed up Evermore and Evernight, which I actually wanted to get - oh well!)
154) Charlaine Harris: Living Dead In Dallas
155) Kenneth Oppel: Silverwing (Christmas present from a dear friend)
156) Catherine Clément: Le voyage de Théo (for university)
157) Nick Sagan: Everfree
158) Joy Fielding: Still Life (another Christmas present)
159) Lev Grossman: The Magician
160) Laura Schaefer: The Teashop Girls (pre-ordered in May)
161) Janet Evanovich: Naughty Neighbor (Bookcrossing)
162) J.K Rowling The Tales Of Beedle The Bard (secret santa - Literaturschock)
163) Ally Carter: I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You (secret santa - Literaturschock, yes, I did get 2 books)

Read
98) P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast: Marked
99) Agatha Christie: Star Over Bethlehem
100) Gene Luen Yang: American Born Chinese
101) Hester Browne: The Little Lady Agency
102) Sylvia Plath: The Bell Jar
103) Ralf Schmitz: Schmitz' Katze
104) Sarah Mayberry: She's Got It Bad
105) Vicki Lewis Thompson, Jill Shalvis & Rhonda Nelson: Better Naughty Than Nice

DNF
7) Audrey Niffenegger: The Time Traveler's Wife

November summary

Now seriously, I am the weakest person ever when it comes to book buying! I was on a book buying ban, zut alors! And what do I do? I buy books... To my defense, I must say I was out and about reading a book I didn't enjoy, so I needed some new reading material - and then I forgot my books and needed some new reading material.

And then I only read 5 books? I'm certainly not happy about that! Maybe if I hadn't forgotten my books at home all the time, I would have read more, but we'll never know now!

Added
125) Patricia Davids: Speed Trap (can I blame the authors? she told me about it and I couldn't resist LOL)
126) Tzipi Caton: Miracle Ride - A True Story of Illness, Fate, Humor - And Triumph
127) P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast: Marked
128) P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast: Betrayed
129) P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast:Chosen
130) P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast:Untamed
131) Josh Bazell: Beat the Reeper
132) Nick Sagan: Edenborn
133) Alan Bradley: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
134) Melissa Marr: Wicked Lovely
135) Gareth P. Jones: The Thornthwaite Inheritance
136) Wolfgang Schorlau: Das München-Komplott (German mystery)
137) Ralf Schmitz: Schmitz' Katze (German book by comedian)
138) Eckard von Hirschhausen: Die Leber wächst mit ihren Aufgaben (German book by comedian)
139) Lernkrimi Italienisch: Mord in der Scala (Language Practice Italian: Murder at the Scala)
140) Jeffery Deaver: The Vanished Man
141) Melissa De La Cruz: Masquerade
142) Georges Simenon: Maigret et le clochard
143) Vicki Lewis Thompson, Jill Shalvis, Rhonda Nelson: Better Naughty Than Nice
144) Gene Luen Yang: American Born Chinese
145) Michael Anthony: Mass Casualties
146) Dan Brown: Da Vinci Code (in French, gift from a dear friend!)

Read
92) a great book you'll hear more about as soon as possible! (not the same as #91 in October!)
93) Martin Millar: Lonely Werewolf Girl
94) Cassandra Clare: City of Bones
95) Gareth P. Jones: The Thornthwaite Inheritance
96) Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child: Reliquary (audio)
97) Yasushi Inoue: Memoirs of the Priest Honkaku

DNF
6) Dan Brown: The Lost Symbol (I'm still annoyed I actually shelled out the money for the hardcover!)

October summary

So, October is over and I'm really, really glad this month was much better than September. The read-a-thon sure helped!

Added
121) Jon Krakauer - Under The Banner Of Heaven
122) Jill Shalvis: Instant Gratification
123) Sara Orwig: Wyoming Marriage
124) Sarah Mayberry: She's Got It Bad

Read
84) Jill Shalvis - Storm Front
85) Sara Orwig: Wyoming Marriage
86) Friedrich Duerrenmatt: Die Panne
87) MaryJanice Davidson: Undead and Unreturnable
88) Jay Asher: 13 Reasons Why
89) Will Eisner: The Spirit
90) Alan Bennett: The Uncommon Reader
91) a great book you'll hear more about as soon as possible!

DNF
5) Mari Mancusi: Stake That

September summary

September has been the worst month so far. I have been busy with work and with having one of my wisdom teeth extracted. The first part was very necessary, because my old computer didn't really work anymore. Now I have a new one, though! And the second was no fun at all!

Anyway, back to reading:

Added
114) Dan Brown - The Lost Symbol
115) Rhonda Nelson - The Hell-Raiser
116) Lisa Kleypas - Mine Till Midnight
117) Rachel Caine - Midnight Alley
118) Benyamin Cohen - My Jesus Year: A Rabbi's Son Wanders the Bible Belt in Search of His Own Faith
119) Tanya Huff - Blood Trail
120) Amanda Quick - I Thee Wed (Bookcrossing)

Read
82) Nick Sagan - Idlewild
83) D.D. Barrant - Dying Bites

So, you see it was a really, really bad month!

summary for June through August

If I keep going at that rate I'll really need an apartment with two rooms for me - one bedroom and one library! At least, I got some nice reading done during the past 3 weeks! :-)

Added
89) Lawrence Kaplan: House Of Ghosts (review book)
90) Tachibana Higuchi: Alice Academy Vol. 6
91) Tachibana Higuchi: Alice Academy Vol. 7
92) Natsuo Kirino: Real World
93) Jean Hager: Blooming Murder (Bookcrossing)
94) Nadine Dajani: Cutting Loose (review book)
95) Sally Koslow: The Late, Lamented Molly Marx (review book)
96) Susan Crosby: The Rancher's Surprise Marriage
97) Sarah Dunn: Secrets Of Happiness (won - thanks Beth)
98) Robert Fate: Baby Shark's Jugglers At The Border
99) Allison Leigh: A Weaver Wedding
100) Jeanine Frost: Halfway To The Grave
101) Dirk Bernemann: Ich hab die Unschuld kotzen sehen Teil 2 (German)
102) Patricia Davids: A Military Match
103) Kristan Higgins: Fools Rush In
104) Jill Shalvis: Double Play
105) DD Barant: Dying Bites
106) Rachel Caine: Glass Houses
107) MaryJanice Davidson: Undead and Unpopular
108) MaryJanice Davidson: Undead and Uneasy
109) Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games
110) Nick Sagan: Idlewild
111) Haruki Murakami: A Wild Sheep Chase
112) MaryJanice Davidson: Undead and Unreturnable
113) Kristan Higgins: Too Good To Be True

Read
42) Maju Sakai: Rockin' Heaven Vol. 2
43) Gosho Aoyama: Case Closed Vol. 16
44) Gosho Aoyama: Case Closed Vol. 17
45) Gosho Aoyama: Case Closed Vol. 18
46) Tomoko Hayakawa: Perfect Girl Vol. 6
47) Maki Minami: Special A Vol. 1
48) Maki Minami: Special A Vol. 2
49) Maki Minami: Special A Vol. 3
50) Yuna Kagesaki: Cheeky Vampire Vol. 7
51) Lawrence Kaplan: House Of Ghosts
52) Yuna Kagesaki: Cheeky Vampire Vol. 8
53) Jong Eun Lee: Shi Hwa Mong Vol.1
54) Susan Crosby: The Rancher's Surprise Marriage
55) Jacqueline Baird: Marriage At His Convenience
56) Tomoko Hayakawa: Perfect Girl Vol. 7
57) Tomoko Hayakawa: Perfect Girl Vol. 8
58) Maju Shinjo: Kaikan Phrase Vol. 5
59) Tomoko Hayakawa: Perfect Girl Vol. 9
60) Kristan Higgins: Just One Of The Guys
61) Tachibana Higuchi: Alice Academy Vol. 6
62) Tachibana Higuchi: Alice Academy Vol. 7
63) Karen Tei Yamashita: Tropic Of Orange
64) Allison Leigh: A Weaver Wedding
65) Janice Kay Johnson: Snowbound
66) Cormac McCarthy: The Road
67) Jill Shalvis: Flashback
68) Merline Lovelace: A Question Of Intent
69) M. Reufsteck/J. Stoeckle: Die kleine House-Apotheke
70) Charlotte Douglas: Mystique
71) Elizabeth Young: Asking For Trouble
72) Jill Shalvis: Instant Attraction
73) Carly Phillips: Hot Property
74) Dani Sinclair: Secret Cinderella
75) Julie James: Just The Sexiest Man Alive
76) Donna Kauffman: The Cinderella Rules
77) Susan Elizabeth Phillips: Heaven, Texas
78) Susan Elizabeth Phillips: Lady Be Good
79) Nalini Singh: Visions Of Heat
80) Rachel Caine: Glass Houses
81) Patricia Davids: A Military Match

DNF
4) Dirk Bernemann: Ich hab die Unschuld kotzen sehen 2

I have the feeling I left out at least one DNF, but I just can't remember which one it was *sigh* (Not counting the many books I have not yet finished, but plan on finishing!)

May summary

Oh dear, now look at the awefully long list of added books! No wonder Mt. TBR doesn't shrink even a little! I'm hopeless *sigh*

Added
72) Virginia Woolf: To The Lighthouse (won during 24 Hour Read-A-Thon)
73) Jay Asher: Thirteen Reasons Why (won during 24 Hour Read-A-Thon)
74) Emily Listfield: Best Intentions (review book)
75) Alan Bennett: An Uncommon Reader
76) Sophie Kinsella: Remember Me?
77) Stephenie Meyer: Eclipse
78) Randy Pausch: The Last Lecture
79) John Boyne: The Boy In The Striped Pajamas
80) Emily Dickinson: Wilde Nächte (The Letters of Emily Dickinson) (free)
81) Scott Sigler: Infected (gift certificate)
82) Sam Savage: Firmin (gift certificate)
83) Ann Aguirre: Grimspace (gift certificate)
84) Lisa Jackson: Twice Kissed
85) Dale Carnegie: How to Win Friends & Influence People
86) Beth Andrews: A Not-So-Perfect Past
87) Jill Shalvis: Flashback
88) Scott Westerfeld: Uglies

Read
31) Jill Shalvis: Flashpoint
32) Jennifer LaBrecque: Yule Be Mine
33) Cara Summers: Come Toy With Me
34) Leslie Kelly: Slow Hands
35) Abby Gaines: Married By Mistake
36) Peter O'Donnell & Jim Holdaway: Modesty Blaise - The Gabriel Set-Up
37) Beth Andrews: A Not-So-Perfect Past
38) Sam Savage: Firmin
39) Tachibana Higuchi: Alice Academy Vol. 4
40) Tachibana Higuchi: Alice Academy Vol. 5
41) Gosho Aoyama: Detective Conan 15

Oh those good old times!

Do you remember those wonderful times when you could sit down and read and read and forget everything around yourself until you had finished the book? When nothing disturbed you and you kept reading?

I certainly do and I have to admit I'm pretty sad I haven't been able to do this in the past. True, the read-a-thon in April was an exception, but for years before that and ever since? Nothing! I just can't. I might sit down and read a bit, but then I remember something else and it distracts me. This whole dreaded situation has caused my reading to stagnate significantly. I no longer read a couple books a week, I can be happy when I read one book a week, even if it is a romance (which are fast reads for me).

I can't even concentrate on the reading I am supposed to do for university. My mind is a mess! I am so annoyed by myself and my stupidity, I can't describe it. I'm lacking the words!

I really miss the old times when I sat down on my couch with a book and started reading and after 5 minutes at the latest I had completely forgotten everything around me. I sometimes didn't even hear my Mom calling me for dinner! I would give a lot for getting back to this point where I could concentrate on something.

How about you? Have you ever been in a similar situation or are you right now ina similar situation? What did you do to get out of that?

r

announcement

Just a short announcement. From now on I won't review any books I haven't read at least past page 50. Therefore, there won't be reviews for the two following books:

1) Maureen Child: An Officer And A Millionaire
2) Laura Childs: Eggs In Purgatory

For some reason, those books were not for me, but I really can't say much about them, so I'll leave it at that.

April summary

Added
59) Julia Hoban: Willow
60) Michael Karpin: Tightrope - Six Centuries Of A Jewish Dynasty
61) William Boyd: Restless
62) Adriana Trigiani: Lucia, Lucia
63) Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Half Of A Yellow Sun
64) Philip Roth: American Pastoral
65) Cormac McCarthy: The Road
66) Karen Tei Yamashita: Tropic Of Orange
67) Oscar Wilde: An Ideal Husband
68) Italian language learning mystery: Dottor Bianchis Letzter Wille (Dorrot Bianchi's Last Will)
69) Paul Robertson: Road To Nowhere
70) Abby Gaines: Married By Mistake
71) Michail Bulgakov: The Master & Margerita

Read
23) Lori Wilde: Lethal Exposure
24) Marjane Satrapi: Persepolis 2
25) Eun-Ah Park: Sweet & Sensitive 4
26) Eun-Ah Park: Sweet & Sensitive 5
27) Tess Gerritsen: The Mephisto Club
28) Meg Cabot: The Princess Diares - To The Nines
29) Harry Kemelman: Sunday The Rabbi Stayed Home
30) Elie Wiesel: Night

DNF
2) Maureen Child: An Officer And A Millionaire
3) Laura Childs: Eggs In Purgatory

Half Of A Yellow Sun Read-Along

When I saw that Jackie from Farm Lane Books had Half Of A Yellow Sun on her list for the TBR challenge I had just gotten the book a few days before through Bookcrossing and so I decided to write her about it. We then agreed to do a buddy read for this one.



The plan is to start reading it in the first week of May. That way we think we can read the first half until May 7 and then finish it up until May 14.

Jackie already has a post up about this here, by the way.

Here's the backcover blurb:
In 1960s Nigeria, a country blighted by civil war, three lives intersect. Ugwu, a boy from a poor village, works as a houseboy for a university lecturer. Olanna, a coung woman, has abandoned her life of privilege in Lagos to live with her charismatic new lover, the professor. The third is Richard, a shy Englishman in thrall to Olanna's enigmatic twin sister. When the shocking horror of the war engulfs them, their loyalties are severly tested as they are pulled apart and thrown together in ways that none of them imagined...

Are you interested in joining us for the read along? We’d love to share our thoughts with you!

March summary

What a lousy month! I really didn't read much, with all the other stuff I had to do... I can only hope April will be better!

Added
45) Lorna Barrett: Murder Is Binding
46) Margaret Grace: Malice In Miniature
47) German book on ADD
48) Steve Mosby: The 50/50 Killer
49) Tess Gerritsen: The Mephisto Club
50) Janice Kay Johnson: Snowbound
51) Florentine Dame & Elizabeth Weydt: An Grenzen
52) Lora Leigh: Nauti Boy
53) Lisa Kleypas: It Happened One Autumn
54) Julie James: Practice Makes Perfect
55) Julie James: Just The Sexiest Man Alive
56) Jill Shalvis: Flashpoint
57) Bram Stocker: Dracula (for university)
58) Poppy Z. Brite: Lost Souls (for university)

Read
18) Agatha Christie: The Mirror Crack'd From Side To Side
19) Robert Fate: Baby Shark's Beaumont Blues
20) Meg Cabot: How To Be Popular
21) Robert Fate: Baby Shark's High Plains Redemption
22) Marco von Münchhausen: Zeit gewinnen mit dem inneren Schweinehund (time management)

DNF
none!

February summary

Finally, here's the summary for February! I'm sorry I've been a stranger, but I plan to catch up with last week's posts and the reviews soon.

Added
34) Maureen Child: An Officer And A Millionaire (for challenge)
35) Jennifer LaBrecque: Yule Be Mine (for challenge)
36) Cara Summers: Come Toy With Me (for challenge)
37) Lori Wilde: Lethal Exposure (for challenge)
38) Richard Yates: Revolutionary Road (for group read)
39) Stephenie Meyer: New Moon
40) J.R. Ward: Dark Lover
41) Nancy Horan: Loving Frank (for group read)
42) Holly Robinson Peete: Get Your Own Damn Beer, I'm Watching The Game! A Woman's Guide to Loving Pro Football
43) Rhys Bowen: Evans Above (to finally have a copy of my very own!)
44) Amy Tan: Hundred Secret Senses (for group read)

Read
11) Jill Shalvis & Jacquie D'Alessandro & Jamie Sobrato: Heating Up The Holidays
12) Merline Lovelace: Devlin and the Deep Blue Sea
13) Marie Ferrarella: The Bride With No Name
14) Rutu Modan: Exit Wounds
15) Naomi Alderman: Disobedience
16) MaryJanice Davidson: Undead and Unappreciated
17) Nalini Singh: Slave to Sensation

DNF
none! :-)

So, I'm still adding more books than I'm reading, but I have high hopes to get the number in another direction by the end of the year! This month was rather slow, reading wise, and I still haven't reviewed everything I read, unfortunately, but with all that was going on last month (see here and here), I was rather busy... At least, I didn't have a single DNF!

January summary

As one of my New Year's Resolutions is to keep a complete list of all the books that arrive on my shelves this year, I will keep a monthly tally, and to have a better insight in what's going on on Mt. TBR, I will also add the number of reads and DNFs.

Added
1) Jane Austen: Northanger Abbey and Other Works (for challenge)
2) Sheila Connolly: One Bad Apple (for group read)
3) Laura Childs: Eggs In Purgatory (for group read)
4) Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice (for challenge)
5) Charlotte Bronte: The Professor (for challenge)
6) Elizabeth Young: Asking For Trouble (for challenge)
7) Merline Lovelace: A Question of Intent
8) Marie Ferrarella: Protecting His Witness (for challenge)
9) Dani Sinclair: Secret Cinderella
10) Charlotte Douglas: Mystique
11) Libba Bray: A Great and Terrible Beauty (for challenge)
12) Jim Butcher: Storm Front
13) Rhys Bowen: Her Royal Spyness (for challenge)
14) Meg Cabot: Jinx (for challenge)
15) Kathryn Lilley: A Killer Workout (for challenge)
16) Alice Kimberly: The Ghost and Haunted Mansion (for challenge)
17) Jin Xing: Shanghai Tango (audio)
18) John Katzenbach: The Analyst (audio)
19) Nalini Singh: Slave to Sensation & Vision of Heat (for challenge)
20) Rhys Bowen: Evan's Gate
21) John Sandford: Rules of Prey (for challenge)
22) Natalie Anderson: Bought - One Night, One Marriage (for challenge)
23) Suzanne Brockman: Prince Joe (used book)
24) Marjane Satrapi: Persepolis 1 (gift card, for challenge)
25) Marjane Satrapi: Persepolis 2 (for challenge)
26) Tohko Mizuno: In A Distant Time 10 (for challenge)
27) Rutu Modan: Exit Wounds (for challenge)
28) Jill Shalvis: Instant Attraction (for challenge)
29) Rachel Gibson: Tangled Up In You (for challenge)
30) Cindy Gerard: Show No Mercy
31) Merline Lovelace: Devlin and the Deep Blue Sea (for challenge)
32) Marie Ferrarella: The Bride With No Name
33) Jill Shalvis & Jacquie D'Alessandro & Jame Sobrato: Heating up the Holidays (for challenge)

Read
1) Oscar Wilde: A Woman of No Importance
2) Patricia Davids: Military Daddy
3) Linwood Barclay: No Time For Goodbye (audio)
4) Meg Cabot: Jinx
5) Vicki Myron: Dewey
6) Marie Ferrarella: Protecting His Witness
7) Natalie Anderson: Bought - One Night, One Marriage
8) Suzanne Brockmann: Prince Joe
9) Marjane Satrapi: Persepolis 1
10) Johann Maier: Judentum & Judentum - Reader

DNF
1) Sheila Connolly: One Bad Apple

It is quite obvious I bought more books than I read, way more! But I ordered a bunch of books for my challenges for 2009. 21 books are definitely for challenges, the two audio books are from audible.de. I have a subscription, so I get two audio books each month, and two of the books (One Bad Apple and Eggs In Purgatory) are group reads for a reading group.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

I finished the third book of those that have been recommended to me maybe two weeks ago. The first two were German, so I'll need a bit with the reviews (not that they'd be too interesting as both books are only available in German).

Upon seeing his own striking portrait Dorian Gray is bewitched and offers his soul if only the painting will age while he remains eternally youthful. Believing himself incorruptible, Dorian indulges in a life of pleasure and excess. But what has become of his portrait?

It was the first time for me to read this novel even though it is a classic and I'm a comparative lit major *blush* I read many other classics, but for some reason I never got around to read this one because from hearing about the story line (both of the book and the various movie versions) I didn't think it would be a book I'd be interested in reading. For some reason, I wasn't interested in the "young good-looking man trades his soul for eternal youth" plot. I guess I was simply too young at that time and my negative sentiments stayed with me until now.

This time, though, I was fascinated by the idea of trading one's soul for never-ending youth. I can't imagine every thinking about it, but the idea is one that must have crossed a few people's minds already. If one had the money like Dorian and nothing one did would show in our face, no sorrow, no pain, nothing - would it be worth it? Would it be worth losing one's soul?

Personally, I doubt it, as I feel the "learning-effect" of bad actions would get lost - and even more important, isn't it something we earn, the wrinkles and scars. They tell our story, the story of our life. They become part of us as we grow older, as we live.

Shinshi Doumei Cross

I finally managed to be up-to-date with the first manga series for the series challenge:

Shinshi Doumei Cross - The Gentlemen's Alliance by Arina Tanemura

Arina Tanemura has a few really wonderful series out, but this is the first one I am now up-to-date as it is my favorite so far.
The main character is Haine Otomiya, a student at the "Royal Academy", a very expensive private academy, where classes are set up in three categories, depending on the students' family's wealth. The higher the category they belong to, the more privileges they enjoy, but only one student is in the gold category, the highest one - Togu Shizumasa. He is the student council president and school leader, called "The Emperor". It happens to be he, whom Haine is enamored with, but since she belongs to the bronze category only, she has to work hard to earn money. That way, he stays far away for her, even though she tries to get closer to him.

I have now read the first 7 volumes and I can only hope it won't take too long for the next one to be translated and published. Whenever I read one of the volumes out already, I fell right back into the story of Haine and Shizumasa-sama (-sama is the way highky respected people in Japan are addressed) and all the other characters. It is a lovely story and I hope it'll continue for a while.

My ratings for the first 7 volumes were A- for all of them.

Back from the vacation

I'm back from my vacation. I spent two weeks away from everything, but read only 2 books:
Kathy Reichs: Déjà Dead
and
Laura Childs: The Jasmine Moon Murder
But I had a wonderful time and in the end, that's what counts!

I will post a few reviews over the next couple days, but I'm still swamped with unread mail, so it'll be a while until everything's back to normal ;)

The Princess Diaries: Seventh Heaven

Number: 87
Title: The Princess Diaries: Seventh Heaven
Author: Meg Cabot
Started: August 2, 2007
Finished: August 3, 2007
Pages:285
Genre: YA
ISBN: 0-330-44155-1

Language: English

Where The Book Came From: It was on my Mt TBR (now 148 books high).

First Sentence: Dear Dr Cark Jung, I realize that you will never read this letter, primarily because you are dead.

Cover Blurb: Sexy dancing? Lilly thought I was sexy dancing! With J.P.! In front of Michael!

Poor Mia. Not only has she made a total ass of herself with J.P. (aka the Guy Who Hates It When They Put Corn In The Chilli), trying to prove she's a super chilled party girl, she's also bankrupted the student council. Way to go, Princess!

Just as Mias scared that she's lost Michael and a ton of money, Grandmere steps in with a fund raising plan. She's going to stage a musical in front of the world's hottest celebs - and the star will be none other than Princess Amelia Mignonette Grimaldy Thermopolis Renaldo!

Reason For Reading: I had rather unexpectedly finished the book I brought home with me from my parents' for the night/the next day, so I picked this one up.

Favorite Part: That's a hard one, but I think the most hilarious part was when Mia was fussing about Michael's party and when she was at the party later on...

Miscellaneous: I want more!!! I think I'm going to re-read the series so that I can get the half-books in between.

Rating: B+

Something About Me Challenge - my reads

After a looong time to decide I finally made up my mind which books I'd like to read for the Something About Me Challenge. I made a list of all the books that would probably fall into what I can actually finish and so I came up with a looong list. Then I separated this list into books I already read and books I intend to read. But enough with the talking, here's my list - or my lists:

Those are the books I intend to read for the challenge - along with some alternates:
Emily Bronte: Wuthering Heights (Trish, Suey)
Sophie Kinsella: The Undomestic Goddess (Margo)
Audrey Niffenegger: The Time Traveler’s Wife (Dewey)
Stephenie Meyer: Twilight (Suey)
John Grogan: Marley And Me (Lynne)

alternates:
Bill Bryson: A Short History Of Nearly Everything (Raidergirl3)
Jonathan Stroud: The Amulet Of Samarkand (Suey)
Anne Frank: Diary Of A Young Girl (Pattie)

Those are the books I intend to read one day:
Orson Scott Card: Ender’s Game (Karlene, Becky)
Madeline L’Engle: A Wrinkle In Time (Juli)
Virginia Woolf: Mrs. Dalloway (Trish)
Louisa Mae Alcott: Little Women (Alyson, Lucca)
Geoffrey Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales (Faith)
Truman Capote: Breakfast At Tiffany’s (Lucca)
Cornelia Funke: Ink Heart (SheReads)
Anita Diamant: The Red Tent (Sarah Miller)
Eve Ensler: The Vagina Monologues (Soleil)
Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Crime And Punishment (JMC)
V.C. Andrews: Flowers In The Attic (Margo)
Jane Austen: Pride And Prejudice (Bookworm, Pattie)
William Shakespeare: Twelfth Night (Ellen)
Chaim Potok: My Name Is Asher Lev (Heather)
John Dunning: Booked To Die (Bonnie)

And those are the books I already read:
John Grisham: Runaway Jury (Historia)
Jodi Picoult: My Sister’s Keeper (Trish)
Helen Fielding: Bridget Jones’ Diary (Trish, Tiny Librarian)
Jasper Fforde: The Eyre Affair (Valentina, Heidijane)
Harper Lee: To Kill A Mockingbird (Janet, Stephanie)
Lois Lowry: The Giver (Sarah Miller)
Alice Sebold: The Lovely Bones (Chasida)
J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Bookworm)
Lorna Landvik: Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons (Tiny Librarian)
Earlene Fowler: Fool’s Puzzle (Nattie)
Kim Edwards: The Memory Keeper’s Daughter (3M)
Enid Blyton: The Naughtiest Girl In School (Sally)