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First book of 2008



Just finished Her Last Death by Susanna Sonnenberg. I am a sucker for memoirs about dysfunctional families the only caveat being that I sometimes feel less bad for the victim when they come from a family dripping with money. Susanna had an overexposed childhood because of a wild mother, and it warped her into a sex fiend. Part of the fun of the book was trying to figure out who the disguised characters were (as most of the people in the book's names have been changed to protect their privacy). If it were fiction, the book would be a basic Danielle Steel plot, but the fact that these things really happened lead to some credibility. Through a great deal of the story, though, the reader is left with the feeling that the narrator is as confused as her mother and that we may not be getting the real story anyway. I am beginning to wonder if Jeanette Walls has just ruined me for anymore memoirs. How could anything compare to the Glass Castle?

I also finished the Teen One Book New Jersey 2008 pick: Dr. Franklin's Island by Ann Halam. I like this one, it was a cross between the Island of Dr Moreau and Lord of the Flies. Three kids survive a plane crash, only to end up on an island of an evil genius who wants to alter them genetically. I think this was a good choice for the Teens this year. I'll link to the One Book NJ website as soon as they update it. The adult choice is The Plot Against America, which I read a while ago and loved, loved, loved it. Because I'm so close to Philly, I feel obliged to read the One Book Philadelphia choice as well. This year it is What is the What by Dave Eggers. At 475 pages, WITW would qualify as one of my chunksters....HMMM. Is anyone else going through their books checking page counts right now? Until I get my list straight it's gonna be all about the numbers....
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Andrea said…
Hey I'm glad you started up this blog, I'm new to the book blogging world as well. I'm reading The Human Stain by Roth for My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge, but I haven't read anything else by him.
January 6, 2008 at 11:03 AM
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