17. A Walk Across the Sun...Corban Addison
Quote
When a tsunami rages through their coastal town in India, 17-year-old Ahalya Ghai and her 15-year-old sister Sita are left orphaned and homeless. With almost everyone they know suddenly erased from the face of the earth, the girls set out for the convent where they attend school. They are abducted almost immediately and sold to a Mumbai brothel owner, beginning a hellish descent into the bowels of the sex trade.
Halfway across the world, Washington, D.C., attorney Thomas Clarke faces his own personal and professional crisis-and makes the fateful decision to pursue a pro bono sabbatical working in India for an NGO that prosecutes the subcontinent's human traffickers. There, his conscience awakens as he sees firsthand the horrors of the trade in human flesh, and the corrupt judicial system that fosters it. Learning of the fate of Ahalya and Sita, Clarke makes it his personal mission to rescue them, setting the stage for a riveting showdown with an international network of ruthless criminals.
Such a good read. It is so sad that this stuff is going on in the world right now. I had to write a research paper that dealt with some of it last year and it was tough to get through some of the stuff I saw. Definitely recommend it.
18. The New Dead: A Zombie Anthology...Christopher Golden (editor)
Quote
Stoker-award-winning author Christopher Golden has assembled an original anthology of never-before-published zombie stories from an eclectic array of today's hottest writers. Inside there are stories about military might in the wake of an outbreak, survival in a wasted wasteland, the ardor of falling in love with a zombie, and a family outing at the circus. Here is a collection of new views on death and resurrection.I really liked his monster anthology and this one was just as good!
19. Strangers...Mary Anna Evans
Quote
Faye Longchamp’s new archaeological firm has landed a project in St. Augustine, Florida. In four centuries, America’s oldest city has accumulated skeletons that should probably stay buried. Within a day of Faye’s arrival, a woman disappears, leaving behind blood, priceless artifacts, and a note asking for Faye's help. The detective hires Faye to find the artifacts’ origin. But the ghosts of the Ancient City are demanding masters, and Faye is also driven to uncover their secrets--until it becomes clear that what they seek is Faye herself. And her child...This is a great series...I've enjoyed each book in it.
20. New York City Ballet Workout...Peter Martins
21. The New Rules of Lifting for Women...Lou Schuler
22. Scattered Graves…Beverly Connor
Quote
Local politics get nasty when Rosewood, Georgia, elects a new mayor—and Diane Fallon is replaced with an incompetent crony as head of the crime lab. But just as she’s adjusting to life without murder, the newly appointed chief of police and the mayor are shot dead. Back on the job, Diane realizes that no one is safe—least of all her.
23. Dust to Dust…Beverly Connor
Quote
A woman dies under suspicious circumstances, supposedly after finding evidence of her incarcerated brother's innocence. Now to prove a possible murder, Diane Fallon must root through the victim's family secrets-and the many skeletons in her closet...
24. The Night Killer…Beverly Connor
Quote
Forensic investigator Diane Fallon fights for her life in her eighth mystery.25. One Grave Less…Beverly Connor
Diane is driving through a downpour on a windy mountain road after picking up a set of rare Indian artifacts when a tree suddenly slams across the hood of her car, revealing a human skeleton in its hollow trunk. As she starts to investigate, she's ambushed by a stranger and forced to run for her life. Stranded in the night with a killer, Diane must uncover a secret hidden away by time and distance-or she may not live to see another morning...
Quote
Forensic anthropologist Diane Fallon has tried to put the past behind her, establishing herself as head of the River Trail Museum of Natural History. Late one night at the museum, Diane hears terrified cries and finds an injured man-a former coworker from her time as a human rights activist in South America.Left with a body, a bone, and a cryptic message, Diane has to dig back into her past with World Account International, before the next human rights abused are hers...
I had read the earlier books in this series a few years ago and I didn’t know she had come out with more. I still love them! I think I like them better than Kathy Reich's and Patricia Cornwell's series.
26. The Borrower...Rebecca Makkai
Quote
Lucy Hull, a young children's librarian in Hannibal, Missouri, finds herself both a kidnapper and kidnapped when her favorite patron, ten- year-old Ian Drake, runs away from home. The precocious Ian is addicted to reading, but needs Lucy's help to smuggle books past his overbearing mother, who has enrolled Ian in weekly antigay classes with celebrity Pastor Bob. Lucy stumbles into a moral dilemma when she finds Ian camped out in the library after hours with a knapsack of provisions and an escape plan. Desperate to save him from Pastor Bob and the Drakes, Lucy allows herself to be hijacked by Ian. The odd pair embarks on a crazy road trip from Missouri to Vermont, with ferrets, an inconvenient boyfriend, and upsetting family history thrown in their path. But is it just Ian who is running away? Who is the man who seems to be on their tail? And should Lucy be trying to save a boy from his own parents?
I liked this book, but some of it was a tad unbelievable. The way she just takes off with him is kind of unreal and how she goes along with all his ideas doesn't make sense. But I loved all the literary allusions and the moral that books can save you. Plus, the Russian mafia stuff was funny.
27. The New Rules of Lifting for Abs...Lou Schuler
28. The Raven's Bride...Lenore Hart
Quote
When eight-year-old Virginia "Sissy" Clemm meets her handsome cousin, Eddy, she sees the perfect husband she's conjured up in childhood games. Thirteen years her elder, he's soft-spoken, brooding, and handsome. Eddy fails his way through West Point and the army yet each time he returns to Baltimore, their friendship grows. As Sissy trains for a musical career, her childhood crush turns to love. When she's thirteen, Eddy proposes. But as their happy life darkens, Sissy endures Poe's abrupt disappearances, self-destructive moods, and alcoholic binges. When she falls ill, his greatest fear– that he’ll lose the woman he loves– drives him both madness, and to his greatest literary achievement.
Part ghost story, part love story, this provocative novel explores the mysterious, shocking relationship between Edgar Allan Poe and young Sissy Clemm, his cousin, muse and great love. Lenore Hart, author of Becky, imagines the beating heart of the woman who inspired American literature's most demonized literary figure– and who ultimately destroyed him.
I really wanted to like this book because I love Edgar Allan Poe. It just wasn't written very well and the characters were dry and boring. I almost didn't finish it. What makes it worse is that after I was done reading it, I found out that it was a blatent rip-off of an earlier work about Virginia Poe. There were countless examples of plagerism throughout her book; I honestly don't see how the publisher didn't pull it. I would recommend not even bothering with it.
29. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother...Amy Chua
Quote
All decent parents want to do what's best for their children. What Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother reveals is that the Chinese just have a totally different idea of how to do that. Western parents try to respect their children's individuality, encouraging them to pursue their true passions and providing a nurturing environment. The Chinese believe that the best way to protect your children is by preparing them for the future and arming them with skills, strong work habits, and inner confidence. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother chronicles Chua's iron-willed decision to raise her daughters, Sophia and Lulu, her way-the Chinese way-and the remarkable results her choice inspires.
Here are some things Amy Chua would never allow her daughters to do:
• have a playdate
• be in a school play
• complain about not being in a school play
• not be the #1 student in every subject except gym and drama
• play any instrument other than the piano or violin
• not play the piano or violin
The truth is Lulu and Sophia would never have had time for a playdate. They were too busy practicing their instruments (two to three hours a day and double sessions on the weekend) and perfecting their Mandarin.
Of course no one is perfect, including Chua herself. Witness this scene:
"According to Sophia, here are three things I actually said to her at the piano as I supervised her practicing:
1. Oh my God, you're just getting worse and worse.
2. I'm going to count to three, then I want musicality.
3. If the next time's not PERFECT, I'm going to take all your stuffed animals and burn them!"
But Chua demands as much of herself as she does of her daughters. And in her sacrifices-the exacting attention spent studying her daughters' performances, the office hours lost shuttling the girls to lessons-the depth of her love for her children becomes clear. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is an eye-opening exploration of the differences in Eastern and Western parenting--and the lessons parents and children everywhere teach one another.
Oh, my. These poor, poor girls. I am the first to admit that many American children are spoiled, over-indulged, under-achievers, but what this woman did to her daughters is near child abuse.
30. A Stolen Life...Jaycee Dugard
Quote
When Jaycee Dugard was eleven years old, she was abducted from a school bus stop within sight of her home in South Lake Tahoe, California. She was missing for more than eighteen years, held captive by Phillip Craig and Nancy Garrido, and gave birth to two daughters during her imprisonment. On August 26, 2009, Garrido showed up for a meeting with his parole officer; he brought Jaycee, her daughters, and his wife Nancy with him. Their unusual behavior raised suspicions and an investigation revealed the tent behind the Garridos’ home where Jaycee had been living for nearly two decades. A Stolen Life was written by Jaycee herself and covers the period from the time of her abduction in 1991 up until the present. In her stark, compelling narrative, she opens up about what she experienced—and offers an extraordinary account of courage and resilience.
31. Ultimate Fitness Through Martial Arts...Sang H. Kim
Quote
This is a one-stop reference for martial arts students, instructors and coaches that includes over 200 new and traditional martial arts exercises, games and drills for developing speed, power, flexibility, timing, co-ordination, agility, balance, and mental strength. It includes: variations for individuals, partners and groups; detailed explanations of fitness concepts; Injury prevention; diet and nutrition; beginner, intermediate and black belt workout plans; exercise cautions; Martial arts applications for all exercises; and, instructor guidelines. It is organised for easy reference.
32. Weetzie Bat...Francesca Lia Block
Quote
A brief, off-beat tale that has great charm, poignancy, and touches of fantasy . Weetzie, now 23, is a child of Hollywood who hated high school but loves the memories of Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin, plastic palm-tree wallets, and the roller-skating waitresses at Tiny Naylor's. She wears a bleached-blond flattop and Harlequin sunglasses, covers her '50s taffeta dresses in glittery poetry, and sews fringe down the sides of her minis in sympathy with the plight of the Indian. Nobody understands her, least of all her divorced bicoastal parents, until she meets Dirk, who takes her slamdancing at the hot clubs in L.A. in his red '55 Pontiac. When he tells her he's gay, they decide to go "duck-hunting" together. He meets his ideal blond surfer, and Weetzie finds her Secret Agent Lover Man. They all move in together, make movies that become underground successes, and have a baby. This recreates the ambiance of Hollywood with no cynicism, from the viewpoint of denizens who treasure its unique qualities. Weetzie and her friends live like the lillies of the field, yet their responsibility to each other and their love for the baby show a sweet grasp of the realities that matter.
No comments:
Post a Comment