reading list 2006

New books: 26 ( 7,035 pgs )

Longest book: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (782 pgs)
Shortest book: The Reluctant Dragon (64 pgs)
Oldest book: The Phantom of the Opera (1910)
Newest book: Whales on Stilts! (April 2005)
Best book: Jurassic Park
Best children’s/YA book: Inkheart
Worst book: The Satanic Verses
Most disappointing book: Rilla of Ingleside

Cornelia Funke, Inkheart
Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
Christopher Paolini, Eragon
Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses
Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park
John H. Groberg, The Other Side of Heaven
L.M. Montgomery, Anne’s House of Dreams
Eva Ibbotson, Journey to the River Sea
Eva Ibbotson, Island of the Aunts
M.T. Anderson, Whales on Stilts!
Michael Hoeye, Time Stops for No Mouse
Edward Eager, Half Magic
Gaston Leroux, The Phantom of the Opera
Elizabeth Enright, Gone-Away Lake
Eva Ibbotson, The Star of Kazan
Tracy Chevalier, Girl With a Pearl Earring
Leon Garfield, Smith
Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Ingleside
L.M. Montgomery, Rainbow Valley
L.M. Montgomery, Rilla of Ingleside
Kenneth Grahame, The Reluctant Dragon
Anne Mazer, The Salamander Room
Jan Slepian, The Cat Who Wore a Pot on Her Head
Diane Siebert, Train Song
Michael Rosen, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt

Previous: 2005 | 2004

Jurassic Park

by Michael Crichton

O joy of joys! I knew there was a secret to winning Jarom back. I just had to read Jurassic Park. I finished it just after we got back together. See? I told you!

Ok, so aside from that, the book was fantastic. Much more philosophic than the movie – but, the movie was meant to be full of action, so that’s understandable. I hated John Hammond and loved Ian Malcolm. We watched the movie together after I was done reading, and I definitely think it’s a well-written, well-thought-out book that translated nicely into something people would enjoy watching.

Hurray!!

The Satanic Verses

by Salman Rushdie

My sister let me borrow this book for the long commute to and from Pleasanton, since I had to go down there for work. I have to say…it was one of the weirdest books I’ve ever read. Not in a surreal way, just in a weird way. A very weird way. Rushdie is a capable author, but first there was the unnecessary cursing and imagery, and then the plot was so strange on top of that…I just came out of it feeling odd. Displaced, but not really in a good way.
 
I did read a clip from one of Rushdie’s other books, and it sounded promising. Maybe because it was more of a children’s book. I don’t recommend The Satanic Verses unless you’re going to borrow it from someone who has already bowdlerized their copy.