Leo says, ”When a demigod like me comes around, bad things happen.  Really bad.”

“Maybe it’s the other way around,” Jason suggested.  “Maybe people with special gifts show up when bad things are happening because that’s when they’re needed most.”

Sometimes I feel like Leo.  Bad things just follow me around because I’m a Christian…because the entire world, both seen and unseen, is out to get me.

But maybe God strategically places me in the midst of certain situations because that’s where I need to be.  Maybe, just maybe, my heartbreak, my frustration, my fear, isn’t all about ME, but about what I do with it and how I use it to touch the lives around me.

This is a tough one.  The only book I can remember just absolutely hating was a book called Pavane.  The title and the premise seemed so interesting, but I only got about half way through it before completely giving up.  There was never enough background information for me, as a reader, to make sense of the world the author was creating.  I also never understood how the stories connected to one another, but maybe that’s because I never finished the book.

To this day, it is still the only book I can recall choosing to not finish reading.  (There were a few books when I was in college, but that was a different story altogether.)

This is a VERY difficult one to answer.  There are so many books that I truly love, and choosing just one among many feels sort of like trying to choose a favorite child.

I suppose the two series that made the greatest impression upon me growing up, and that I have continued to read and talk about with people are The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia.  On the other hand, I can’t ignore the huge impact that the novel Dune made on me as a young reader and again later when I reread it as an adult.  Then there is Jane Eyre, that I loved far more reading it as an adult than I did when I first read it as a teen.

But if I ended this post here, you might get the impression that I haven’t read anything as an adult that has truly impressed me, and that is simply not true.  If anything, I’ve read far more as an adult, both in sheer quantity and quality.  I suppose the most memorable so far have been The Handmaid’s Tale and the Twilight series, for very different reasons.  The first is a powerful social commentary that avoids being heavy handed, and the second drew me into the story more completely than possibly any other book I’ve read.

Day 01 – A book series you wish had gone on longer OR a book series you wish would just freaking end already (or both!)
Day 02 – A book or series you wish more people were reading and talking about
Day 03 – The best book you’ve read in the last 12 months
Day 04 – Your favorite book or series ever
Day 05 – A book or series you hate
Day 06 – Favorite book of your favorite series OR your favorite book of all time
Day 07 – Least favorite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise
Day 08 – A book everyone should read at least once
Day 09 – Best scene ever
Day 10 – A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 11 – A book that disappointed you
Day 12 – A book or series of books you’ve watched more than five times
Day 13 – Favorite childhood book OR current favorite YA book (or both!)
Day 14 – Favorite character in a book (of any sex or gender)
Day 15 – Your “comfort” book
Day 16 – Favorite poem or collection of poetry
Day 17 – Favorite story or collection of stories (short stories, novellas, novelettes, etc.)
Day 18 – Favorite beginning scene in a book
Day 19 – Favorite book cover (bonus points for posting an image!)
Day 20 – Favorite kiss
Day 21 – Favorite romantic/sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 22 – Favorite non-sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 23 – Most annoying character ever
Day 24 – Best quote from a novel
Day 25 – Any five books from your “to be read” stack
Day 26 – OMG WTF? OR most irritating/awful/annoying book ending
Day 27 – If a book contains ______, you will always read it (and a book or books that contain it)!
Day 28 – First favorite book or series obsession
Day 29 – Saddest character death OR best/most satisfying character death (or both!)
Day 30 – What book are you reading right now?

Hands down, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.  It is filled with humor but manages to not make light of serious issues.  Plus, it is one of the few books I’ve ever read that made me both laugh and cry in the span of only a few pages.  The book is marketed at a young adult audience because the protagonist is high school age, but I believe adults will get just as much enjoyment from the book, if not more.

Day 01 – A book series you wish had gone on longer OR a book series you wish would just freaking end already (or both!)
Day 02 – A book or series you wish more people were reading and talking about
Day 03 – The best book you’ve read in the last 12 months
Day 04 – Your favorite book or series ever
Day 05 – A book or series you hate
Day 06 – Favorite book of your favorite series OR your favorite book of all time
Day 07 – Least favorite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise
Day 08 – A book everyone should read at least once
Day 09 – Best scene ever
Day 10 – A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 11 – A book that disappointed you
Day 12 – A book or series of books you’ve watched more than five times
Day 13 – Favorite childhood book OR current favorite YA book (or both!)
Day 14 – Favorite character in a book (of any sex or gender)
Day 15 – Your “comfort” book
Day 16 – Favorite poem or collection of poetry
Day 17 – Favorite story or collection of stories (short stories, novellas, novelettes, etc.)
Day 18 – Favorite beginning scene in a book
Day 19 – Favorite book cover (bonus points for posting an image!)
Day 20 – Favorite kiss
Day 21 – Favorite romantic/sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 22 – Favorite non-sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 23 – Most annoying character ever
Day 24 – Best quote from a novel
Day 25 – Any five books from your “to be read” stack
Day 26 – OMG WTF? OR most irritating/awful/annoying book ending
Day 27 – If a book contains ______, you will always read it (and a book or books that contain it)!
Day 28 – First favorite book or series obsession
Day 29 – Saddest character death OR best/most satisfying character death (or both!)
Day 30 – What book are you reading right now?

A lot of YA series have gotten a lot of attention lately.  From Twilight to Percy Jackson, Hollywood has discovered that young readers make a good target audience.  Yet, I feel that they have overlooked a positive gem in the Heir series by Cinda Williams Chima.  It isn’t that the writing is out of the ordinary, and I do occasionally question her plot choices, the world that she has created in these three books is superb.

While I don’t know that her writing is strong enough to keep this series going, I’d love to have more people to talk with about the books, and may try to turn some of my students on to the series.  I’d also like to see Disney do something with it other than make a cheesy kiddie flick or just sit on it.  (The third book in the series came out with the Disney logo discretely on the binding, so I’m assuming they’ve picked up the movie rights.)

Day 01 – A book series you wish had gone on longer OR a book series you wish would just freaking end already (or both!)
Day 02 – A book or series you wish more people were reading and talking about
Day 03 – The best book you’ve read in the last 12 months
Day 04 – Your favorite book or series ever
Day 05 – A book or series you hate
Day 06 – Favorite book of your favorite series OR your favorite book of all time
Day 07 – Least favorite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise
Day 08 – A book everyone should read at least once
Day 09 – Best scene ever
Day 10 – A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 11 – A book that disappointed you
Day 12 – A book or series of books you’ve watched more than five times
Day 13 – Favorite childhood book OR current favorite YA book (or both!)
Day 14 – Favorite character in a book (of any sex or gender)
Day 15 – Your “comfort” book
Day 16 – Favorite poem or collection of poetry
Day 17 – Favorite story or collection of stories (short stories, novellas, novelettes, etc.)
Day 18 – Favorite beginning scene in a book
Day 19 – Favorite book cover (bonus points for posting an image!)
Day 20 – Favorite kiss
Day 21 – Favorite romantic/sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 22 – Favorite non-sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 23 – Most annoying character ever
Day 24 – Best quote from a novel
Day 25 – Any five books from your “to be read” stack
Day 26 – OMG WTF? OR most irritating/awful/annoying book ending
Day 27 – If a book contains ______, you will always read it (and a book or books that contain it)!
Day 28 – First favorite book or series obsession
Day 29 – Saddest character death OR best/most satisfying character death (or both!)
Day 30 – What book are you reading right now?

Well, when I was a kid, I really wished that The Lord of the Rings went on and on.  I was somewhat satiated when the Silmarillion was finally published, but that wasn’t exactly what I’d been looking for.  I wanted more stories about Frodo and Sam, Merry and Pippin, Gimli and Legolas.  I wanted them all to go on more adventures, and I really hated that everything had to change at the end, with everyone going their own way.  It made me sad as a child, probably because I feared change myself.  Of course, through the process of growing up, and partly thanks to books like this one, I’ve learned that change is both necessary and good.

The series that I wish would finally end already are the Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris.  The last one to come out really fell pretty flat…too much going on without any real mystery to it.  I think it’s time for Harris to move on to some other focal character or maybe a completely different creative world.

Day 01 – A book series you wish had gone on longer OR a book series you wish would just freaking end already (or both!)
Day 02 – A book or series you wish more people were reading and talking about
Day 03 – The best book you’ve read in the last 12 months
Day 04 – Your favorite book or series ever
Day 05 – A book or series you hate
Day 06 – Favorite book of your favorite series OR your favorite book of all time
Day 07 – Least favorite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise
Day 08 – A book everyone should read at least once
Day 09 – Best scene ever
Day 10 – A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 11 – A book that disappointed you
Day 12 – A book or series of books you’ve watched more than five times
Day 13 – Favorite childhood book OR current favorite YA book (or both!)
Day 14 – Favorite character in a book (of any sex or gender)
Day 15 – Your “comfort” book
Day 16 – Favorite poem or collection of poetry
Day 17 – Favorite story or collection of stories (short stories, novellas, novelettes, etc.)
Day 18 – Favorite beginning scene in a book
Day 19 – Favorite book cover (bonus points for posting an image!)
Day 20 – Favorite kiss
Day 21 – Favorite romantic/sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 22 – Favorite non-sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 23 – Most annoying character ever
Day 24 – Best quote from a novel
Day 25 – Any five books from your “to be read” stack
Day 26 – OMG WTF? OR most irritating/awful/annoying book ending
Day 27 – If a book contains ______, you will always read it (and a book or books that contain it)!
Day 28 – First favorite book or series obsession
Day 29 – Saddest character death OR best/most satisfying character death (or both!)
Day 30 – What book are you reading right now?

For two consecutive years, I did not reach my goal. I wasn’t off by too much, but enough to somewhat disappoint myself. In 2009, I amazed myself. Not only did I get far beyond my 30 book goal, I went beyond the 50 book mark. Of course, I didn’t get much else done in 2009, other than keeping up at work and marginally taking care of my house and husband. I did a bit of knitting and crocheting, but my other hobbies took a back seat to reading for the most part.

Since I’d like to also focus on those other hobbies and some of the important people in my life in 2010, I think I may need to cut back on the reading just a bit. So, my new plan is to read my age…I’ll be 34 years old by the end of 2010, so that’s my goal–to read 34 books.

So, as I embark on this plan with Inkheart in my hand, I wish you all happy reading in the new year!

For now, here is a great quote I came across while reading Jane Eyre, when she is faced with Mr. Rochester’s pleas that she stay with him as his not-quite-legal wife, since she has no relatives to object:

Still indomitable was the reply–”I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself. I will keep the law given by God; sanctioned by man. I will hold to the principles received by me when I was sane, and not mad–as I am now. Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigour; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth? They have a worth–so I have always believed; and if I cannot believe it now, it is because I am insane–quite insane: with my veins running fire, and my heart beating faster than I can count its throbs. Preconceived opinions, foregone determinations, are all I have at this hour to stand by: there I plant my foot.

What an awesome rational for the purpose of sustaining faith and morality. Faith is not for the times when everything is right with the world, but for when our world is turned on its head. It is for the times when we are tempted to act differently from our beliefs, so that no matter what we may think we want in our “insane” moments, we still know and can do what is right.

Now, I’ll preface my review by saying that I’ve heard that the movie departed widely from the novel, so don’t take my review of the film as an endorsement of the novel. (By the way, I’ll be heading over to the book store this afternoon to purchase a copy, since I just received a gift card from an administrator at work.)

The first surprise in the film comes during a flashback to when the main character was sending his wife and daughter away so that they would be safe from the infection. As he puts them on the military helicopter, they hold hands and bow their heads and say a quick prayer, the words of which we actually hear. I know. Rare for a film unless they are trying to make a point about how futile prayer is or how ludicrous Christians are.

Towards the end of the film, the filmmaker suggests that God’s hand has been at work in the midst of the horrible things that have happened in the world as a result of this virus. Although the main character initially denies the existence of God, he does state that the virus is not the work of God. He also eventually comes to believe that God really has directed his path. The end of the film is very exciting in this aspect, though I don’t want to reveal too much for those who might go see this movie now.

I will say that it also has its frightening moments. This is not a movie for children or the faint of heart (that would be me). But, if you have nerves of iron, or like to jump out of your seat occasionally, this one is well worth the trip to the theater or the rental fee in a few months.