Summer Reading List '08

Hello -

I read a lot of books this summer, and I even made a list, just for kicks! I didn't include anime books on my list.

1. Rules by Cynthia Lord (200 pages)
2. Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin (277 pages)
3. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr (328 pages)
4. Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause (264 pages)
5. Rainbow High by Alex Sanchez (247 pages)
6. Are you alone on purpose? by Nancy Werlin (204 pages)
7. Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce (403 pages)
8. Gwyneth and the Thief by Margaret Moore (270 pages)
9. All the Way by Andy Behrens (216 pages)
10. Light Years by Tammar Stein (263 pages)
11. Alias: Recruited by Lynn Mason (211 pages)
12. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris (260 pages)
13. Someone to Love Me by Anne Schraff (162 pages)
14. From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris (359 pages)
15. The Second Virginity of Suzy Green by Sara Hantz (258 pages)
16. How to take the Ex out of Ex-Boyfriend by Janette Rallison (265 pages)
17. Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez (233 pages)
18. Beauty by Robin McKinley (247 pages)
19. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon (221 pages)
20. The Girl With a Baby by Sylvia Olsen (203 pages)
21. Paradise by Joan Elizabeth Goodman (209 pages)
22. The Geography Club by Brent Hartinger (226 pages)
23. Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld (403 pages)
24. The Order of the Poison Oak by Brent Hartinger (211 pages)
25. Rainbow Road by Alex Sanchez (243 pages)
26. Twelve Long Months by Brian Malloy (316 pages)
27. The Ransom of Mercy Carter by Caroline B. Cooney (244 pages)
28. Wings by E.D.Baker (307 pages)
29. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (498 pages)
30. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (563 pages)
31. Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs (294 pages)
32. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs (288 pages)
33. Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris (262 pages)
34. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier (233 pages)
35. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (626 pages)
36. Shadow Horse by Alison Hart (230 pages)
37. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (754 pages)
38. Dreamland by Sarah Dessen (250 pages)
39. Club Dead by Charlaine Harris (258 pages)
40. Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris (291 pages)
41. Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris (295 pages)
42. Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs (294 pages)
43. Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen (228 pages)
44. The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen (374 pages)
45. Don't Cramp My Style Edited by Lisa Rowe Fraustino (283 pages)
46. Angels Watching Over Me by Lurlene McDaniel (176 pages)
47. Just Like That by Marsha Qualey (233 pages)
48. Too Young to Die by Lurlene McDaniel (166 pages)
49. Goodbye Doesn't Mean Forever by Lurlene McDaniel (166 pages)
50. Life of Pi by Yann Martel (319 pages)
51. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (754 pages)
52. The Choice by Nicholas Sparks (272 pages)
53. Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris (324 pages(

So, that's my list, excluding anime books. Would love to discuss any of the above books with anyone!! : )

Kaminsky

Blood and Chocolate - The Differences Between the Book and the Movie

Hey!

Have you ever read a book that you REALLY liked, or even loved, and then you heard that they were making a movie of that book? Well, I have read and reread Blood and Chocolate multiple times, and I love it! When I heard that they were making a movie of it, I was really excited...until I saw the movie.

Blood and Chocolate the movie is very different than the book. The ending, how certain characters act and respond to things, and more. I like the ending of the book - and when I saw the movie and saw that the ending was COMPLETELY different, I almost cried. THAT'S how much I love this book!

If you saw the movie Blood and Chocolate and are interested in reading the book, I suggest that you do read it. BUT - when you read the book, remember this - the book came first!

When you read the book, you may want to completely seperate your image of the movie from your mind. I have a friend who said that when she watched the movie (after reading the book) she considered it to be a completely different story, and this made it more enjoyable than if she had compared the book and the movie to each other. Oh, well.

Read Blood and Chocolate - You'll enjoy it!

Kaminsky

It's My Birthday - And I Got Books!

Hey -

Today was my birthday and I got 10 books!! YAY!!!!

I got:

- The Freedom Writers Diary (A REALLY great book, true story!)
- Gorillas in the Mist By Dain Fossey
- The Ultimate Teen Book Guide (A Book about good books for teens to read! What could be better?!?!)
- The Jane Austen Book Club By Karen Joy Fowler (I also got the movie, which is really good.)
- The Secret Life of a Teenage Siren By Wendy Toliver
- The Ultimate Volunteer Guidebook for Young People
- Big Boned By Meg Cabot (I haven't read the first and second in the series, but that just means that I have to put them on hold at the library soon!)
- Hacking Harvard By Robin Wasserman
- King of the Pygmies By Jonathon Scott Fuqua
AND
- Runemarks By Joanne Harris (This book was signed by the author and was signed to me. That means that inside the books it actually says that it's for me!!)

As you may be able to tell, I like my birthday presents, and it's going to be hard for me to pick which book I want to read first. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Kaminsky

Rereading

Hi -

Late last night as I was trying to decide which book I should read next, I decided that I was going to reread all of my books that I own that I've already read. I hope that this will encourage me to get rid of books that I don't really enjoy anymore. So far I've reread 3 books. (I've been busy!)

Waking Up To Boys (By Hailey Abbott)
The Perfect Boy (By Hailey Abbott)
and
Getting Lost With Boys (By Hailey Abbott)

The last two books were actually very similar (or at least the characters were) so I've decided to bring those to my dad's house to see if my step-sisters might be interested in them. I'm keeping Waking Up To Boys in my bookshelf at my mom's for now. The last 2 books mentioned had a main character who wanted to be some kind of lawyer, and they had crushes (or ended up with crushes) on boys who were really into music. I'd recomend reading Waking Up To Boys if you are interested in reading any of them.

In case you were wondering, I organize my books by author's last name. That's why I read 3 books by Hailey Abbott in a row.

I've now started rereading City of the Beast (By Isabel Allende) and I'm on page 30.

Thanks,
Kaminsky

New Books That I'm Reading

Hello -

My most recently finished book was the third Maximum Ride book by James Patterson. All three books in this series and fast, fun, and wonderful reads, and I suggest that everyone reads them. (Maybe not everyone, but everyone that likes fantasy/science fiction books, or just anyone looking for a good read.)

I've also been reading a series by Ellen Emerson White. Startin with The President's Daughter as book 1 and White House Autumn as book 2, this series focusus on a teenage girl who's mother runs for President, and wins. The story follows her life as her mother moves from being a Senator to becoming President of the United States. Moving to the White House is a big change for their family. Lots of things happen in only the first 2 books, and I can't wait to read Long Live the Queen (book 3) and Long may she Reign (book 4.)

My 3rd classic book for school is going to be The Color Purple By Alice Walker. It's good so far. I've heard that it's a very good book, but it's kind of hard to read because of the concepts and themes, not because of the writing style, although that in itself isn't perfect proper English.

Have a nice first week of December!
Kaminsky

Anna Karenina

Wow -

I'm finally done! This morning, about 3 minutes ago, I finished reading Anna Karenina.

I thought it was a good book. I liked how it told the story of multiple characters and families all at the same time. It was interesting, and it wasn't boring unless the characters were talking about something that I only half understood, which only happened every once in awhile.

I'm happy that I'm done with it, and I'm proud of myself for reading it in such a short time compared to the time it took me to read David Copperfield. Reading books for school has it's downsides, but if it makes me read books quicker and read more books, as long as I'm not missing things, then I'm fine with that.

Yay, I'm done!
Kaminsky

Fantasy

Hello -

Recently I have read the first Maximum Ride book By James Patterson (good, and I already have books 2 and 3 on hold at the library) and Heart of Stone by C.E. Murphy.

Heart of Stone is the first book in the Negotiator trilogy. I can't wait until March '08 when House of Cards (Book 2) and August '08 when Hands of Flame (Book 3) come out!!

I'm almost done reading Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. I have to finish writing stuff about it by the 29th and I hope to have finished reading it at least by the 27th. I'm currently on page 771 out of 817. I'm getting close to the end!

Have fun reading!
Kaminsky