Finished The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer. This is a companion book to Life As We Knew It.
Alex lives with his parents and two younger sisters in New York City. When the asteroid hits the moon, his mom is at work (she works in a hospital's OR) and his dad is in Puerto Rico for a funeral.
Alex has to figure out a way to keep his family safe and together, at least until one or both of his parents comes home.
I think I preferred Life As We Knew It, but this was good, too.
These books (there's going to be a third out in April) are so scary, too. I don't think I'd do well in a world where I'd have to acquire food someplace that isn't a grocery store (or any of the places where we normally get food) and I certainly don't know how to cook and wash clothes without electricity and running water.
Finished Finding Purpose Beyond Our Pain by Paul Meier and David L. Henderson for Thomas Nelson.
The thesis with this book is that hard times can either bring you closer to God or drive you farther from God. When bad things happen, it tends to be for one of two reasons:
1) God is using these incidents to improve you in some way. For instance, if you have a problem with patience, perhaps you will be put in situations where you have no choice but to develop that quality. :)
2) God didn't want this to happen, but will work within these circumstances so your life will continue to be what He wants. This is where free will comes in. He doesn't "let" you get mugged, but if you trust Him, He can take your fear away. (as an example.)
I don't think this would be a good book to read while you're going through difficult times (although maybe that's just me; hearing about how God works in mysterious ways after my dad died made me want to hit people in the face) but I think it'd be comforting to read after, once things are calming down a little.
I do have some issues with some of the things the authors said. First, as someone who's struggled with faith, I can tell you that atheists don't think that there's no point in being a good person in this life. You can be a moral or ethical person without believing in God. (And really, isn't there something to be said for doing the right thing because it's the right thing, not 'cause you think God will smite you?)
And second, they trotted out Carrie Prejean as an example of faith and not, say, prejudice. Yes, she has every right to believe whatever she wants. But let's not act like she isn't a bigot. If she had said that she didn't think black people/Hindu people/atheists/immigrants or any other group shouldn't be allowed to get married, we wouldn't even have to have discussions on whether or not she's prejudiced. And yes, it is the same thing. :)
Finished Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer.
This book is told through a series of diary entries. Miranda is a normal teenager, living with her mom and two brothers (one older, one younger). There are two noteworthy events for her at first--her dad's second wife is pregnant and she's going to be the godmother. And an asteroid is going to hit the moon, which everyone's excited about.
Except it turns out the asteroid was bigger than anyone thought, because it knocks the moon closer to earth.
This may not seem like a huge deal. Until you remember that the moon controls the tides, so there are a lot of tsunamis. There are also a lot of earthquakes and volcanic activity (something about gravitational pull; Miranda doesn't get much more specific).
Because of the tsunamis, oil refineries are mostly gone (gas goes up to $12 a gallon) and there's not much electricity. And after all the eruptions, plants aren't growing so well, either (volcanic ash blocks the sun, which means no light for growing). And of course there's no electricity, so grocery stores aren't open very long.
It's scary to think about how screwed we'd be if a huge event like this actually happened. Still, a very good book.
(And tomorrow I have to go to the store anyway, so I may be stocking up on canned goods.)
Finished Fallen by Lauren Kate (this is a review copy; it comes out December 8).
Luce (short for Lucinda) is about to start school at Sword & Cross (a sort of cross between boarding school and an alternative school for troubled and/or dangerous children). She's there because of a mysterious incident involving a fire that led to a boy's death. (That's about all we know, because she doesn't remember it.)
Not long after arriving, she meets Daniel, who is really, really, ridiculously good looking. He smiles...then gives her the finger.
She's still fascinated.
This is a suspense/love story.
Luce is a good heroine. She's smart and easy to root for. Daniel is a fairly typical love interest (I don't think it's a spoiler for me to say that) although I wish that authors would let go of the "He's cruel because he cares so, so much" rationale.
The writing is cheesy in parts but the story is compelling, so I forgive it. (Also, since I got a review copy, it's possible that some of that got edited out.)
Here's how I'm doing so far:
Books read in October: 37 (I know, but I had two little vacations and I also read three books that consisted of six-word memoirs)
Books read in 2009 so far : 223
Money raised so far: $350.35 (mostly promised; $100 officially donated on my First Book page so far)
Best books read in October: Juliet, Naked (Nick Hornby), The Everafter (Amy Huntley), Pure (Terra Elan McVoy), Demon Ex Machina (Julie Kenner), Hush, Hush (Becca Fitzpatrick), PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death & God, Hate List (Jennifer Brown), 9 Dragons (Michael Connelly), Spellbinder (Helen Stringer), The Van Alen Legacy (Melissa de la Cruz), Fat Cat (Robin Brande), Fire (Kristin Cashore), After You (Julie Buxbaum), Hold Still (Nina LaCour), The New York Regional Mormon Singles Dance (Elna Baker), Splendor (Anna Godbersen), How to Say Goodbye in Robot (Natalie Standiford) and the three Six-Word Memoir books I read.
What I'm looking forward to in November: the new Stephen King book, Under the Dome. It's over a thousand pages. Anything else is a bonus. :)
In case you are curious to see what I've read so far, visit this page.
If you would like to donate to First Book now instead of at the end of the year, you can access my (currently ultra-generic) page here. You can also donate in installments, which is what I'm doing. :)
Finished How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford.
I completely adored this book.
It's set in Baltimore (and there are parts in Ocean City and it mentions my beloved Haunted House there!) and is about Bea, a new girl in Baltimore, and Jonah. The two of them are outcasts (mostly by choice, I think) but they quickly bond.
It's not a love story. They're not dating, really. It's more like they're soul mates (if you believe that you can have a soul mate that you're not sleeping with or wanting to sleep with).
This is one of the few books that you can't say "Well, it's like..." about. It's not like anything. But if you see this book, pick it up. It's amazing.
Finished Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure, edited by Smith Magazine.
Yup, still love this idea. :)
My favorites:
"I'd rather be watching a movie."
"Never really finished anything, except cake."
"Discovered moral code via Judy Blume."
"Boy, if I had a hammer."
And my absolute favorite:
"Most successful accomplishments based on spite."
Finished Six-Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak, edited by Smith Magazine.
This book obviously focused on the good and bad of love and relationships.
My favorite good ones: "In his eyes I saw forever" and "May I have the last dance?"
My favorite bad ones: "Happiness is a bed to myself" and "Love makes the world go stupid."
I love this series. :) There's one more in print currently and another one is coming out in January.
I got this from Viral Bloggers and it's very interesting so far.
I don't want to gulp these essays down, so I'm going to say a little now and then whenever I finish, I'll discuss it in more depth.
The general gist is that working for justice is one of the most important things a Christian can do, but that a lot of times that gets bogged down with other things.
My favorite line so far: "It's stories that give meaning to the reams of data in our lives, and it's ultimatly stories that provoke us to action."
The essays are more intellectual than emotional--that's not a bad thing, necessarily, but I do get moved more by stories.
Finished Whip It by Shauna Cross. (Apparently formerly called Derby Girl.)
This is now the movie with Ellen Page and Drew Barrymore. It's pretty appropriate that Ellen Page plays Bliss (narrator and main character) because she's basically Juno on speed.
Bliss lives with her parents and four-year-old sister in a small town in Texas. Her mom's uber-crazy about pageants and insists that Bliss and her sister participate. The sister (Shania) keeps winning, but the most Bliss attains are the certificates that everyone gets for entering.
And then she finds a roller derby league in Austin and immediately falls in love. She tries out and makes the team, but she has to keep it a secret (because no way would her parents approve).
Fun story about a girl finding herself. :) And now I really want to see the movie.
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