Booking through Thursday - Worst Best Book

Today's Booking Through Thursday brought to you by Janet:

How about, “What’s the worst ‘best’ book you’ve ever read — the one everyone says is so great, but you can’t figure out why?”

The worst "best" book I read was "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" by Gregory Maguire. I had read many reviews about how wonderful the book was and you just have to read it. There were many, many Amazon reviews (616 5 star reviews so far) that said it was

"Amazing"

"Wickedly Brilliant"

"Wonderful"

Well you get the picture. Wicked was totally dark and morbid and found myself reading only a few chapters at a time, then giving up my reading time to browse the blogs. It wasn't bad enough for me to give up reading the book. I wanted to get through the story, even though I pretty much knew how it ended. Don't know why I expected a story about the wicked witch of the west to be a light read, but I did. It wasn't until after reading the story and having to force myself to finish it, that I discovered the folks who didn't like it.

I can't think of any other "best" books at the moment, but sure some will come to mind when I read other Booking through Thursdays "worst - best" posts.

What was your "Worst - Best" Book?

WIP Wednesday

Work in Progress Wednesday is the inspiration of Kate of The Lovers, The Dreamers, and Me. If you want to join in on the fun, simply post your own WIP Wednesday entry on your blog and leave a link to it in the comments of Kate's post.






For the past week, I've worked on the two chapters I mentioned last week. I've been writing out things by hand and then typing it up later in the day or the next day. Surprisingly, and this is a good thing, it results on my expanding upon what I've written - ie higher word count. The other morning I tried the old method of sitting down at the computer and typing, versus handwriting. When I worked directly on the computer, managed about 500 words and when I wrote things out, at least 1400 words in the same period of time.

I finally sat down and wrote the love scene between my two main characters - Dom and Winter. Imagine if you will, trying to do this, with the sounds of my son playing his wii Mario brother's or watching 101 dalmations. "Hey mom, you see that? Huh, huh." Not exactly conducive to romance. I think it turned out pretty well, but will of course, need polishing during the edit.

I keep telling myself it doesn't have to be perfect now...just write it. However, that internal editor keeps popping up to say "perhaps it would sound better this way or that." At any rate, I'm pleased with the result. Haven't quite finished the chapter, but anticipate doing so within the next couple of days.

My goal is to complete the first draft by Easter, which is 25 days away. I have one more chapter, before getting into the exciting part in which the Villain comes after my heroine. Oh, the drama - oh, the tension. Wish me luck!

Statistics:

Total words written this past week - 3443

Total words so far - 80,882

Christian Readers Challenge - Completed

I finished the list of books planned to read for the Christian Readers Challenge hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. The challenge runs from January 1st through April 30, 2009, but I managed to finish all my books early.

The books completed during the challenge are:

1. Fire Dancer by Colleen Coble (# 5)
2. Distant Echoes by Colleen Coble (#9)
3. Black Sands by Colleen Coble (# 11)
4. The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner (#29)
5. Line of Duty by Teri Blackstock (# 32)
6. Coral Moon by Brandilyn Collins (#35)
7. Dangerous Depths by Colleen Coble (#36)
8. Fireproof by Eric Wilson (#38)
   
9. Hadassah by Tommy Tenney (#39)

The numbers in red at the end relate to the 100+ book challenge and number of books read so far. Thank you to MizB at Should Be Reading for hosting.

Book Review # 39 - Hadassah

Hadassah

One Night With The King

by

Tommy Tenney
with Mark Andrew Olsen

Back Cover: "Both a palace thriller and a Jewish woman's memoir, Hadassah brings the age-old story of Esther to life. This historically accurate novel layered with fresh insightes provides a fascinating twist on a pivotal time in religious history, and readers will find it bursting with page-turning drama."

Hadassah is an excellent story and very well written. The story begins in present time when a young woman by the name of Hadassah is about to be married. Her grandfather takes her to the Shrine of the Book and surprises her by revealing she is a decendant of the Esther, queen of Persia. She is given a book to read before her wedding, written by Esther for a candidate as bride to the king. You are transported back to 492 bc when Hadassah was 6 years old and her story unfolds with the murder of her parents and she goes to live with Mordecai. The story is very detailed, filled with politics, intrigue and Hadassah journey to becoming Esther, her romance with the King and saving her family. The story personalizes the old Testament story of Esthers's and gives you a whole new understanding of her life.

Book Review # 38 - Fireproof

Fireproof



Novelization by Eric Wilson

Back cover: "Inside burning buildings, Captain Caleb Holt lives by the firefighter's adage: Never Leave Your Partner. Yet at home, in the cooling embers of his marriage, he lives by his own rules. Growing up, his wife Catherine always dreamed of marrying a loving, brave firefighter...just like her father. Now, after 7 years of marriage, she wonders when she stopped being 'good enough.' Countless arguments and anger have them wanting to move on to something with more sparks.

As they prepare for divorce, Caleb's father challenges him to commit to a 40-day experiment. "The Love Dare." Wondering if it's even worth the effort, Caleb agrees, for his father's sake more than for his marriage. Surprised by what he discovers about the meaning of love, Caleb realizes that his wife and marriage are worth fighting for. His job is to rescue others. Now Captain Holt is ready to face his toughest job ever...rescuing his wife's heart."

Fireproof by Eric Wilson is very well done and captured my attention. At the beginning of the story Caleb has become very selfish, only looking out for his wants and needs. He puts his life on the line everyday fighting fires and thinks his wife should appreciate that fact and give him slack and not expect him to do anything around the house. He and his wife have grown apart and she is tired of trying. Caleb reaches out to his father who gives him a book "The Love Dare." The Love Dare" (which has been made into a real book) challenges Caleb to complete a dare each day, to do something nice for his wife, in addition to scripture and statements of principles to read. Caleb grudgingly starts the dare, but comes to comes to realize how his actions have helped contribute to the failure of their marriage and struggles to change in order to save it.

But Catherine is also at fault and as Caleb struggles to change, Catherine struggles to stay faithful and find the strength to accept Caleb back. In the process, they discover that marriage includes God and having faith, not only in him, but each other. Highly recommended.

Book Review # 37 - Sag Harbor

Sag Harbor

By

Colson Whitehead

I received Sag Harbor, courtesy of Barnes and Nobles First Look club and once I started reading the book, couldn't put it down.

Back cover: The year is 1985. Benji Cooper is one of the only black students at an elite prep school in Manhattan. He spends his falls and winters going to roller-disco bar mitzvahs, playing too much Dungeons and Dragons, and trying to catch glimpses of nudity on late night cable tv. After a tragic mishap on his first day of high school--when Benji reveals his deep enthusiasm for the horror movie magazine Fangoria--his social doom is sealed for the next four years.

But every summer, Benji and his brother, Reggie, escape to the East end of Long Island, to Sag Harbor, where a small community of African-American professionals have built a world of their own. Because their parents come out only on weekends, he and his friends are left to their own devices for three glorious months. Except Benji is just as confused about this all-black refuge as he is about the white world he negotiates during the school year. There's always a complicated new handshake to fumble through, state-of-the-art profanity to master, and his fantasies of hooking up with the opposite sex are no match for his awkwardness. And let's not get started on his misshapen haircut (which seems to have a will of its own), the New Coke Tragedy of '85, and his secret Lite FM addition.

In this deeply affectionate and fiercely funny coming of age novel, Whitehead--using the perpetual mortification of teenage existence and the desperate quest for reinvention --beautifully explores racial and class identity, illustrating how it is impossible to define an individual in isolation from his family's communal history.

Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead isn't a book I would typically have chosen at the bookstore to read. So I'm glad I joined in the Barnes and Nobles First Look Book club experience which exposed me to this story. It is truly a coming of age story during the 1980's. The story struck a chord with me, because even though I was 26 at the time versus Benji's 15, his experiences brought back many memories from that period of time, plus when I was his age. The music, the special handshakes, ditching your best friend for a date, trying to impress the opposite sex, sibling rivalry and of course, trying to fit in. Benji's story not only explores the life of a teenager trying to be a teenager and fit in, but all the issues of family, friends, race and social life.

The story is interesting, humorous, thought provoking, heart rendering at times and I highly recommend it.

Pages: 288
Publisher: Doubleday
Release Date: April 28, 2009

I's Monday - What are you reading This Week

J.Kaye has started this weekly event to talk about what books you completed in the past week, what books you are currently reading and books to finish this week. I decided to join in and hopefully it will keep me on track.

Completed Last Week

The Girl She Used To Be by David Cristofano, courtesy of Hachette Book Group. Click on the title for my review.

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett. This was part of the Martel-Harper Challenge for the first quarter. Click on the title for my review.

Coral Moon by Brandilyn Collins - click on title for review

Fireproof by Eric Wilson - Christian Readers Challenge. To be Reviewed.

Hadassah by Tommy Tenney - Just finished this one last night and totally enjoyed it. Both are for the Christian Readers Challenge and complete the challenge for me. Both will be reviewed sometime this week.

Allison Brennan's Killing Fear and Playing Dead - both for Series to Finish Challenge. I'll be typing up a review sometime this week.

Currently Reading

Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton. I really need to concentrate on reading this one. Very wordy but really want to finish it before the end of the week and the start of Spring Reading Challenge. Not sure if I will finish it, but we'll see.


The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton. Part of Dewey's Books reading Challenge.

Planning on Reading

Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy. 1st quarter read and a novella for the Martel- Harper Challenge.

E-Book French Bred by Frederick Guarino courtesy of Mr. Guarino.

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To join in on It's Monday, What are you reading links, head on over to J.Kaye's Book Blog.