My Book Retreat

Like many other book bloggers, as the year comes to an end, I thought I'd share a wrap-up of my 2009 reading. I'm including a list of all the books I read this year, as well as the books I enjoyed reading the most in 2009. So, first off, here is my Top 9 of 2009:
The Help by Kathryn Stockett (review)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (review)Still Alice by Lisa Genova (review)Moloka'i by Alan Brennert (review)The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust by Edith H. Beer and Susan DworkinCatching Fire by Suzanne Collins (review)The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson (review)The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, with Jeffrey ZaslowThe Faith Club by Ranya Idiby, Suzanne Oliver, Priscilla WagnerI haven't written reviews for all of these yet, but I plan to write them in January as time allows. And here is my Complete List of Books Read in 2009:
A Map of Home by Randa JarrarA Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty SmithBalzac and the Little Chinese Se…

Tom Langdon has plans to spend Christmas in Lake Tahoe with his girlfriend, but first he has to get from Washington, DC to Los Angeles. Unfortunately, the reporter has been banned from flying after an air rage incident, so he decides to take a train from coast to coast and write about holiday rail travel. During his ride, he encounters all sorts of interesting characters from a bartender who looks like Elvis to a retired priest to a young couple about to wed aboard the train. He also runs into his former girlfriend, Eleanor, who he hasn't seen since she walked out on him many years ago.

The Christmas Train by David Baldacci is written in two sections: Tom has to take two trains to get to LA, so each section of the book covers a different train ride. Many of the characters continue on the trip from one train to the next with Tom, so their stories continue as well. I have to say I liked the second half of the book much better than the first. The first half seemed to be devoted to in…

Books completed last week:
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
The Christmas Train by David Baldacci

Reviews written last week:
The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
The Christmas Magic by Lauren Thompsom

Books currently reading:
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

Up next:
Crossing the Bridge by Michael Baron
Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris

Upcoming reviews:
The Christmas Train by David Baldacci

Visit J. Kaye's Book Blog to see what others are reading.

It's been a busy week with Christmas, but here are some of the books we've been reading.

C's kindergarten teacher gave all the kids in her class a chapter book for the holidays: Reindeer Do Wear Striped Underwear by Marcia Thornton Jones and Debbie Dadey. We read it to C before bed this week, and he really loves it. It's about a group of kids who go to the zoo on a field trip. When they see a reindeer and someone who looks like Santa, one of the kids insists on checking him out. It's a short chapter book, so it could be read in one night, but we only read a couple chapters each night. The language is simple enough that C should be able to read most of it. We're going to work on having him read it now that we've read it to him once.

I picked up Stuart Little by E.B. White at the library because C has really enjoyed listening to other chapter books. I thought it would be fun to read more of a classic story, and he is enjoying it. Stuart Little is a mouse born …

I was very excited to win The Christmas Magic by Lauren Thompson through this giveaway at Buried with Children. It's very fitting that I post this review on the eve of Christmas Eve, as this book is about the magic that comes to Santa on Christmas Eve. It's a beautiful story with soft illustrations and a charming, unique vision of Santa Claus.

In this book, Santa lives in a small house in a snowy, wooded place. The reindeer roam in the land around his home. There are no elves to help Santa prepare for Christmas. Instead, he has a room in his home where all the toys are kept. And in this room is also a book with the names of all the children. As Christmas approaches, Santa starts to feel the magic coming and begins to get ready, shining his boots and packing his bag.

I just love this story and so do my kids, especially M, who is 2 1/2. She says her favorite part is when the magic comes. To me, Christmas is a very magical time, and this book really brings that feeling to the su…

After reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I was anxious to read Stieg Larsson's sequel. The Girl Who Played with Fire did not disappoint. The Girl Who Played with Fire starts off where The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo left off. Lisbeth Salander is back, along with Mikael Blomkvist and the rest of the Millennium staff, and Dragan Armansky and the rest of the Milton Security group. In this book, Salander is accused of murder. While the police try to figure out who she is and where she is hiding, Blomkvist and Armansky both delve into their own investigations as to whether she is guilty.

I have to say I actually liked the storyline of this book better than the first. Like Larsson's first book, this one is full of minute details and a host of characters that are sometimes difficult to keep track of. But it's so engaging and interesting, I had a hard time putting it down. The beginning was a little slower, as there is actually quite a long section at the beginning before …

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I've decided to sign up for yet another challenge: The Support Your Local Authors Challenge. I'm already doing the Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge, so I figure this fits in with that! It will also allow me to choose some books from different years to supplement the Countdown 2010 Challenge.

I've been looking into some local writers, and here are a few that I'd like to read during the challenge:
Nicholas Sparks - Can you believe I've never read a book by Sparks? I figure I'll try him out as part of this challenge.Maya Angelou - I look forward to being inspired by whatever I read by Angelou.Clyde Edgerton - His books sound like fun!I'm also considering checking out these books that were listed on my local library's list of Emerging North Carolina Authors:
The King of Lies by John HartThe Piano Teacher by Lynn YorkOne Foot in Eden by Ron RashThis challenge is completely open-ended, with no time limit or rules, which is very cool! I'll provid…

It's almost Christmas when Richard and Keri, and their 4 year old daughter, move into the home of Mary. Mary is a widow who has hired them to be her caretakers. She is a kind elderly woman, but she soon begins pressuring Richard to reevaluate his priorities in life. Unfortunately he never has time to listen. This is reminiscent of The Christmas Shoes by Donna VanLiere, which I read earlier this season, and in which another man was being reminded to focus on his family. But The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans is much more. Richard finds a very special box that contains a secret about Mary's past - and the secret to the first gift of Christmas.

This is a very short book - I believe I read it in about 2 hours. But it's a wonderful story to read during the Christmas season. It's a simple story, but very heartwarming. The book was originally written by the author as a private expression of his love for his daughters. I will say that those who do not have children may …

I started this blog near the beginning of Fall. I had just joined my first reading challenge, the 2009 Fall Into Reading Challenge, and wanted somewhere to keep track of the books I was reading. Today is the last day of Fall, so I thought I'd take some time to answer some questions about the challenge.

Did you finish reading all the books on your fall reading list?
I did finish all the books, and more! I had signed up to read seven books for this challenge, and I figured it was a pretty conservative commitment. But I never dreamed I'd finish so quickly and read so many more books beyond that! I've actually managed to read eleven books from September 22 through December 21. The seven I committed to were completed a full month before the end of the challenge.

Did you stick to your original goals or did you change your list as you went along?
I stuck with my original goals both in terms of the number of books and the actual titles.

What was your favorite book that you read thi…