Hey Ranger

This was entertaining in it's own right. But I wouldn't say it was stellar. It kept my attention, but just bearly. (I actually put the book down twice and came back to it...) The stories were funny, but often a little short. The writing was pretty plain. I don't know.. maybe I am biased. These stories didn't seem all that extraordinary. They were pretty predictable to say the least. People do dumb things in parks and wilderness areas when they don't know what they are doing. Good thing we have rangers like him to help them become educated on how to act and behave in the wilderness.

Superfoods RX

This was kind of an extra book. I have been trying to incorporate some more non-fiction into my reading diet. I thought this book was pretty fantastic. I loved how it gave you all different aspects on the foods recommend. The history of the food, WHY the food is good for you, WHAT the food can do for you and WHO the food might benefit most. There was a lot of scientific information that sometimes I tended to glance through, but it was all very useful information. Then the book broke it down very easily for anyone on how it could be incorporated into our diet. It also gives lots of easy recipes which is great. The book was also honest about the fat content and how it should be eaten. It really inspired me to go out and throw everything in my fridge and cupboards away and start fresh. Good stuff.

A Confederacy of Dunces

This book was just plain crazy, but I loved it. The characters were fantastic. I think my favorite was the mother. I just thought she was great and well developed. I had a love/hate relationship with Ignatius though out the book. Sometimes I took pity on him and other times I just wanted to hit him. I see this book as more of stage play than anything else. I think it would just be utterly hysterical. I can’t say this will go down as one of my all time favorites, but it defiantly one of those books that will be in my brain for a while.

The End of the Alphabet

This was a tragic little book. It was kind of a downer. I loved however, the way the book was constructed and I loved the idea of in his last days of life traveling around the world visiting a city for every letter of the alphabet. I was sad that the mission was left uncompleted in the end. The writing lacks very little, which is fantastic. It was a quick little read, which I intend to read again to get the full force of it. There is much to be found in this book.

Dying to Cross

I was hopeful about this book as the topic is very interesting. BUT sadly, I was just bored. Yes, it is VERY tragic what happened to the people in the back of the truck. But the way it was written, I couldn't follow. There were way too many people and names and everything jumped all around. I couldn't keep straight who was who. Plus, I don't really see why this was made into a book. There wasn't that much to say about the incident honestly. It's a news story, not a book. Yes, it brings to light a lot of immigration policy issues, which is good. But I just don't think it was worth making into a book.

Marley and Me

I finally read this book. It was a great way to wrap up 2008. I really enjoyed it, though for some reason it took me longer than I thought. (I guess I kept getting distracted.) Grogan is a great author and just had a way with describing crazy old Marley that made me laugh. He was able to use just the right words. I loved it... as it seems most people did. I am curious to see the movie.

That wraps up my 2008 reading! I only read 29 books this year, which is slightly disappointing, but so it goes. I have six month to finish this goal!

Have You Found Her

This is one of the best books I have read in a while. I couldn't put it down. It's hard to believe it's all a very true story. Though it's ending is pretty bland, I can't say I didn't see it coming. You could see the enabling through out the book. BUT, that being said, there were so many twists and turns I didn't see coming. I kept wondering through out, though, why is she doing this? Why does she keep Sam in her life? I guess the title says it all, "Have you found her", maybe meaning, has she found herself? I don't know if I could have been as strong as Erlbaum. But the story was completely captivating none the less.