Sunday, February 22, 2009

52 books in 52 weeks

I wanted to blog each book I read for this challenge, but I'm having a hard time making time to write up reviews. I just want to knit and sew and read, in the few spare minutes I get.

So here's a quick note before I forget:



The Last Summer of You And Me by Ann Brashares. Bonus! Casual knitting content! I like it when books toss in knitters, without it being a knitter's book. The book followed a predictable emotional rollercoaster path, but I enjoyed it. It also provoked a lot of thought about life and quality of life.



The Third Angel by Alice Hoffman. More bonus knitting content! A twelve year old learns to knit and it's therapeutic. It's been years since I read Alice Hoffman and I'm enjoying rediscovering her.



The Book Thief
by Marcus Zusak. Oooh, I did enjoy this book, though it's certainly not an uplifting little tale or anything. Told from the point of view of Death Himself, this book takes us into the depths of Nazi Germany and shows us what life would be like during that dismal period. Naturally, we don't love the Nazis, because readers can't go there even in fiction, but it's an opportunity to contemplate life for every day people under Hitler.



Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. A charming reread. Knitting content! There's a beloved knitted blankie that is indestructable. I had wondered if my daughter would like it, but there's some bad words and that's out of my comfort zone for her at this point in her life. A reviewer called it Yankee Magical Realism, which is an appropriate label. A couple things, totally minor little points not part of the plot, made me squirm: 1) Chocolate syrup in baby bottles, even if it wasn't condoned. OUCH. 2) A man was "bad" and "spoiled" because the women in his life loved him so much they indulged him too much. I didn't like that the women were at fault for his sloth and arrogance.

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