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.

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

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.

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 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.

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!