Friday, June 27, 2008

A Little Late... "Tuesday" Thingers



Sorry this is late! This has been a hectic week as my daughter was in the hospital so I'm just catching up.

Last week I asked what was the most popular book in your library- this week I'm going to ask about the most unpopular books you own. Do you have any unique books in your library- books only you have on LT? How many? Did you find cataloging information on your unique books, or did you hand-enter them? Do they fall into a particular category or categories, or are they a mix of different things? Have you ever looked at the "You and none other" feature on your statistics page, which shows books owned by only you and one other user? Ever made an LT friend by seeing what you share with only one other user?

I don't own any books that no one else owns. I have one book that myself and one other user owns. It's "The Belles of Charleston". You can find my review of it on this blog and LT. The cataloging info was already entered on that book.


Thursday, June 26, 2008

Hidden




Hidden by Shelley Shepard Gray is the inspiring story of a young woman, Anna, on the run from an abusive relationship and a life she is not proud of. She seeks refuge with an old friend who is Amish and hides out at her friend's family's bed and breakfast. While there, she adapts easily to their simple ways and their work ethic. Anna falls in love with the Amish way of life and ultimately decides to alter her life's journey and become Amish. There is a touch of G rated romance as Anna also finds love with her friend's brother. The book is a very sweet, simple story and a quick, easy read. While I would consider the book religious fiction, the references to God and praying are relatively few and not overpowering. Reading the book sparked in me an interest in learning more about the Amish and their customs. I look forward to reading more about Anna and the rest of the Brenneman family in the continuation of the series. 4 stars.

The IBS Healing Plan




The IBS Healing Plan: Natural Ways to Beat Your Symptoms by Theresa Cheung is a fully comprehensive guide for people dealing with IBS and it includes very many ways to treat IBS. The book explains exactly what IBS is and how it is diagnosed. The most interesting sections include how diet affects IBS, stress and IBS and ways to manage stress, and daily living with IBS and all the embarrassing things that go with it. The book discusses traditional ways to treat IBS- from digestive aids and over the counter medicines to prescription drugs- and non traditional ways to treat IBS- including vitamins, herbs, acupuncture, aromatherapy, hypnotherapy, stretching exercises and more. I found the A to Z of IBS symptoms to include many symptoms which a person would not think was related to IBS and it is very interesting all of the ways to treat each symptom. I really enjoyed the personal stories about people dealing with IBS on a daily basis. This book was very well researched and very in-depth at covering all aspects on IBS. I definitely recommend this book to anyone with IBS. 4 stars.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Tuesday Thingers


Today's Question: What's the most popular book in your library? Have you read it? What did you think? How many users have it? What's the most popular book you don't have? How does a book's popularity figure into your decisions about what to read?

Answer: The most popular book in my library is The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. I read it a few years ago and really enjoyed it. 23, 314 other LTers have it in their library. The most popular book(s) I don't have are the Harry Potter books. I don't think a book's popularity figures into my decision to read which books at all.

The Lady Elizabeth


I really enjoyed reading The Lady Elizabeth: A Novel by Alison Weir. The book is about Elizabeth I's early life from the time of her mother Anne Boleyn's death to the time she becomes Queen of England. I did not know anything about Elizabeth's life and it was so interesting reading about all she survived in order to become Queen. I thought the book was very well written. I would have really liked the book to keep going so that I could more about Elizabeth's life as she reigned. I will definitely be looking into Alison Weir's other novel and into more fiction and non-fiction works about Elizabeth I. 4 stars.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Tuesday Thingers


Today's question is about tags- do you tag? How do you tag? How do you feel about tagging- do you think it would be better to have standardized tags, like libraries have standardized subject headings, or do you like the individualized nature of tagging? What are your top 5 tags and what do they say about your collection or your reading habits?

I do tag books that I've read in my library with descriptions about the books subject. I also tag books that are in my library that I want to read as "wishlist". I don't really think we need standardized tags because there are so many tag options that someone may think of a ag for a book that no one else would, but is still a good tag.

My top 5 tags are:

read years ago - This indicates to me that I didn't read the book in 2007 or 2008.

wishlist - Books on my list to buy and read

read in 2007 - Self explanatory

own? - Books I have read but I can't find in my library

motherhood - Books about life as a mother

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Better Than Chocolate


Better Than Chocolate by Susan Waggoner seemed like an interesting story in which a woman's husband invents a "chocolate zero" type product and becomes famous turning their family and lives upside down. However, it was a dissappointment to me. I was looking forward to reading it. The book took me a long time to get through. I started it and stopped to read something else, picked it up and tried it again several times before I finally forced my self to finish it. It was slow moving and dragged on. The writing was actually good and I liked the characters, but the story was not believable. It was almost a fantasy, and I was not expecting that. The story dragged without much happening and when the story finally resolved, it just left me, as a reader, hanging. Overall, I don't think I'd recommend this book. It left me unsatisfied and sorry I had wasted my time on it. 2 stars.

Dr. Rob's Guide to Raising Fit Kids


Dr. Rob's Guide to Raising Fit Kids by Robert S. Gotlin is a very good book for parents of serious, competitive athletes and amateur coaches. To me, it wasn't a book that was extremely relevant to parents of regular kids that aren't athletic that need help staying fit. There was a small exercise section that did have some exercises that children who do not participate in sports could do, but overall I'd say the book is geared towards parents of children who participate in team sports. That said, the book is very detailed and gives great advice on many things. There is a breakdown of each age group and what that age child gets from their sport experience. Dr. Rob tells the best age to start sports, gives a guide to buying sports equipment for each sport, and includes a section on healthy menus and yummy recipes that can benefit all children. The section for coaches and the section on how to manage injuries both were very detailed and would be very beneficial to the parent of a competitive athlete who is also a coach of their child's team. Overall, I would recommend this book to any parent who has a child that participates in team sports. I think it's a worthwhile book that can teach any parent about keeping their little athlete safe and healthy both mentally and physically. 4 stars.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Songs for the Missing


Songs for the Missing by Stewart O'Nan


I really enjoyed this book. It is about a teenage girl, Kim, who goes missing and what happens to her family following her disappearance. Her mother, father, friends and younger sister each have different responses and ways of dealing with losing Kim. I found all of the characters very real and easy to identify with. The story was a bit slow moving but was very well written. I knew from the excerpt on the back of the cover that Kim would most likely not be found, that the book wasn't really about that, but about the other characters' journeys in coming to grips with life without her. But I was a bit disappointed that the ending wasn't tidier. I do understand that that was exactly the point the author was trying to make, that not everything has a satisfying resolution. Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it. 4 stars.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Tuesday Thingers


Tuesaday Thingers is a group of Librarything Early Reviewers that have book blogs. We have a webring (see booksandblogs link on the right). We are also doing a weekly question that we all will answer on our blogs.

Today's Tuesday Thingers question is:

Why LT? Why did you choose to open and maintain an LT account? Do you/did you use other online cataloging/social networking sites, like GoodReads or Shelfari? Do you use more than one? Are they different or do they serve different purposes?

I chose Librarything after I saw the link on someone else's blog. I had never catalogued my books before. I thought the task would be too daunting, too difficult. But once I found LT, I saw how easy it was. I really enjoy keeping track of what I have read. It makes me feel a sense of accomplishment to keep up with how many (and which) books I've read. Because I'd never kept track of them before, in the past I would find myself buying and start reading a book, only to realize that I've read that book before. Now I don't have that problem. I loved how I could read reviews of books and see what other books might interest me. I haven't ever used any other cataloguing site so I am not familiar with those at all.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Author Meme

I was tagged by Lisa over on Alive on The Shelves for an Author Meme!

1. Who’s your all-time favorite author, and why?

This is really hard for me. My favorite books in the past have been chicklit, although I'm trying to branch out more. And most of those authors that I like a lot only write one or two books. So it's really hard to pick just one! I like Meg Cabot, Jennifer Crusie, Sophie Kinsella, Emily Giffin, Jane Green, Marian Keyes, Philippa Gregory, Sarah Mlynowski, Wendy Markham, Anne Rice and Alexandra Ripley. I guess out of that "short list" (ha ha) my favorite is Sophie Kinsella. Her books are such funny, light reads. I really enjoy them.

2. Who was your first favorite author, and why?

My first favorite author was Lucy Maud Montgomery who wrote the Anne of Greene Gables books. I loved those so much as a little girl.

3. Who’s the most recent addition to your list of favorite authors, and why?

My most recent addition would be Philippa Gregory. I have only read 2 of her books so far but there are 3 more that I'm dying to read when I have time.

4. If someone asked you who your favorite authors were right now, which authors would first pop out of your mouth? Are there any you’d add on a moment of further reflection?

I guess, see my list in #1. With some of those on my list, I went through a phase where I read all of their books and no others. I loved those books so much. And while I haven't read them since, I still remember the stories fondly and consider that author one of my favorites.


5. Tagged: I can't find anyone else to tag! If you haven't done the author meme yourself, consider yourself tagged by me!