Earthly Joys by Philippa Gregory

A slow start and a slow ending but a pretty good middle. Definilty not one of her better novels! It's told from the male perspective which is just fine. The only problem is the dragging at the beginning and the end.

I got quite caught up in the family dynamic and I was quite grateful that it wasn't as smutty as some of her others (ie. Wideacre trilogy or Wise Woman)

3 Stars

Something a Little Different

I am participating in a challenge on GoodReads that is intended to get you to read genres you wouldn't necessarily otherwise. It has worked! So far I have managed to squeeze something from my collection into one of the categories but this one was sitting on Ian's shelf and I gave it a shot.

Maus I: A Survivor's Tale My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman

Why is this not my thing? Well to begin with it is a "graphic novel" which is in my opinion a glorified comic book. Yes it has more substance than Betty & Veronica or Archie & Jughead, but it is a comic book nonetheless.

The storyline is a man (the author?) interviewing his father to write a comic about his time in Nazi Germany. This book involves his father and mother running from the Nazis and tells of what life was like during Nazi occupation and once Jews (of which he is one) start being shipped off to the concentration camps.

Ofcourse it is somewhat disjointed since it keeps flipping back and forth from his father telling the story to the author and father and what they are actually doing (ie. going to the bank). This is the first ina series so I am sure that the other talk about life in the concentration camps and after as well. I won't be reading them to find out. Maybe if Ian had them on his shelf as well I would give them a shot since they are a super short read, but he doesn't so i will have live in wonder.

Another thing that bugged me about the book is how it was cutoff so severly. Yes I know this is a series but shouldn't there be some sort of closure? Or is it just a good number of pages? I digress...

New for 2009

I'm not much on New Years' Resolutions. I'm pretty sure I made some last year but I have no idea what they were now! 2008 was a good year though! My wedding, Tara's wedding, Chicago, Vegas, Cruise, a new niece...

For 2009 I am trying a bit of a different challenge. I am going to read at least one book by an author whose name begins with each letter of the alphabet. I have a huge TBR pile and I thought getting through that alone would take care of most of it but as it turns out I read alot of "m" and "s" authors. I already have an "x" and a "z" lined up and that take care of the really tough ones. I'll be tracking my reading over at goodreads (I actually cheated and started with my end of December books for the challenge though).

My other major passion is travel and we have some of that on the go for this year too. Looks like Italy in September and somewhere hot and beachy in March (booking a last minute all inclusive). Now that I have 5 weeks of vacation plus 8 flex days to be used every year I don't have to worry about taking time off. Pretty much I can do whatever I want so it's great!

My latest obsession

I am hooked on the website GoodReads! I have joined a few groups and plan on partaking in a few challenges and games as well. But mostly I love having a place where I can read reviews or discuss ANYTHING I have read/am reading/am thinking about reading. It's great!!

Yes that is my truly shameless website plug for the day. I'm done now.

I am taking most of the afternoon off to volunteer at the foodbank with a group from work. Should be lots of fun, those things usually are. :)

Bookclub

So I've always been interested in joining a bookclub. I never have because I am not into the whole let's sit around discussing the deeper "themes" and all that junk. I am always looking for ideas on what to read next or a place to chat about the book if I feel like it.

I found it! I joined the Rory Gilmore Book Club on Goodreads! Essentially we all love Gilmore Girls and they vote on monthly bookclub selection(s). The is no comittment which I love since then if I don't want to read something I don't feel obligated. December's selection is Little Women. I have never actually read the whole thing and it happens to be sitting in my TBR pile at home so I don't even need to find a copy.