Stats for 2009

Total Books Read:  112

Total Pages Read:  29,186

Abandoned Books: 3
Fiction v. Non-fiction:  92:20
Male v. Female:  76:41
Dead v. Alive:   88:24
Challenge v. Non-Challenge:  59:53
Reviewed v. Non-Reviewed:  98:14
Literature v. Guilty Pleasures:  58:54
New v. Re-Reads: 100:12

Okay, I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to separating books out into Literature versus Guilty Pleasures.  I just don't think Charlaine Harris belongs in the same category as Alexandra Dumas.  I love them both but the effort required to read their novels and the cultural messages and insights inherent in each are different.  J.K. Rowling rocks my world, but William Shakespeare changes it.  I'm very proud that I have a 50-50 split this year.  In the past two years it's been more like 80% guilty pleasures. Oh and some of my books had multiple authors, one male, one female, so there's a bit of overlap for that stat.

My Top 10 of 2009 in the order I read them:

The Know-it-All by A.J. Jacobs

Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello

Watchmen by Allan Moore

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

the perks of being a wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

2009 Challenges (links to challenge posts with completed lists)

100+ Reading Challenge: 112/100
Back to School Challenge: 4/4
A-Z Challenge: 26/26
R.I.P. IV: 4/4
Take a Chance: 10/10
What's in a Name: 6/6
Chunkster Challenge: 4/3
The Dream King Challenge: 12/12 books and 3/1 films

Big Reading Accomplishments of 2009

1.  Read 100+ books
2.  Decreased guilty pleasures and increased "worthy" books
3.  Stumbled upon the book blogging community!!!!
4.  Completed 7 challenges
5.  Did I mention the part where I found the book blogging community?!?!

Now, on to 2010....

A Proper Start

There are two great powers...and they've been fighting since time began. Every advance in human life, every scrap of knowledge and wisdom and decency we have has been torn by one side from the teeth of the other. Every little increase in human freedom has been fought over ferociously between those who want us to know more and be wiser and stronger, and those who want us to obey and be humble and submit.

We've had nothing but lies and propaganda and cruelty and deceit for all the thousands of years of human history. It's time we started again, but properly this time...

~Philip Pullman
His Dark Materials: The Subtle Knife

Can we ever truly start over or are we always bound to our past?

Vegas Baby

I love Vegas. Just adore it. The gambling, over the top hotels, jingling casinos, rooftop night clubs, late nights, and extravagant food. Over the past weekend, my family and I went to Vegas. Oh, the stories I could tell you....but I think I'll stick with some photos.

You may notice that many of these pictures feature the same beautiful blond girl.  That's my cousin Tara, and she turned 21 three days before we went on our trip. In the spirit of turning 21, the three lovely ladies you see below (my mom, Tara, and I) went clubbing one night.  We hit the Voodoo Lounge at the Rio, which has to be the most awesome dance floor I've ever been on.  The "lounge" is on the very top of the building, the 52nd floor, and the dance floor is outside.  I do have to admit I was quite distracted from drinking and dancing by the view of the strip.  After the Voodoo Lounge, we went to Christian Audigier, the dance club in Treasure Island.  In true Vegas style, the later it got, the more people who showed up until the dance floor felt a bit like being in a jar of chunky peanut butter.  Fun fun.  I think the three of us managed to go to bed sometime around 5am....

We had a running joke in Vegas about those unbelievably-piss-me-off jerks who insist on stopping to chat right in the middle of a walkway. I get very very frustrated by that. To show how it could be worse, I guess, here's mom and Tara demonstrating:

Tara is great to have in Vegas. Emotions run amok through her while she is gambling. Verbal yays and nays, physical movement, and perfect facial expressions accompany almost every hit of the slot machine button. She won $50 on Super Slotto once, and she literally came off her chair, hands in the air. It was awesome, so I of course took a picture:

Every time we go to Vegas, we go to a show. This year we went to two (because we got one free). Our first show was Le Reve at the Wynn, a playoff of Cirque du Soleil. Le Reve is a circular theatre where the stage is water. Included are the typical Cirque du Soleil acrobatics and a bit of the aerial, but with diving. My only real problem with the show is its premise: I think it's about a virginal girl who, after getting proposed to, takes a strange sexual journey before saying yes. Hmmm...okaaaayyy. I enjoyed it, but Ka is still my favorite. The first picture is mom and me; the second is of Tara, my aunt Sheila, and my uncle Mark.

I have found my new favorite game - virtual blackjack. I don't venture to the tables very often (blackjack and roulette do call to me) for two reasons: 1) I don't want to feel like an idiot by being the newbie at the table and 2) I've had bad dealers before, boring, sullen, not-even-paying-attention dealers. With Virtual Blackjack, I do not have to worry about this. I do, however, have to worry about the men in my family running off with the virtual woman. We called her Freckles because her ample cleavage is speckled with them, and the men were distracted trying "to count them". :)

Finally, here is a picture of everyone (except of course me, the cameraman) in front of Treasure Island, obviously where we stayed. I can't wait until next year!

Does anyone else have a place they like to go regularly?

I've Got Nothing

I am so late on this. That's the story of my online life - I'm always the last to know.  *deep heaving sigh* Ah, well, what can you do?  At least I found out about this at some point.  Four guys with rather large online fan bases decided to make a music video in the hopes of getting to number 1 on the UK charts.  The lyrics, singers, rhythm, etc. were all the result of YouTube, Twitter, and other social networking sites.

How cool is this?



For more information, head to Alex Day's blog here. A documentary about making the video, which I highly recommend watching is here.

How fun are those four boys?

Sunday Salon: Literary Spoils

My Christmas was lovely and bookish this year.  Not only did I get a wonderful book related gifts from my Secret Santa:

but I also received a variety of bookish presents from my mother and grandmother:

In the above photo we have the following items:

1. britten and brulightly - This graphic novel first came to my attention on Nonsuch books here and quickly made it to my wishlist.
2. The Complete Maus - While I'd heard of this graphic novel(s) before, when Trish reviewed it here, it moved up my to buy list.
3. The Annotated Lolita - I've had Reading Lolita in Tehran on my shelves for some time, but I refused to read it until I had read Lolita.  I have no excuse now.
4. Three Pulp Fiction covers - These three large postcards are actually the covers of old pulp fiction books my mom found at Art.com.  I just adore the way women are portrayed in these: Girls out of Hell, How Cheap Can You Get?, and I Prefer Girls.
5.  5 Book Plates - These gorgeous bookplates are from Jennifer Gordon at Etsy.  I was first introduced to her through Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings, and I love her work.
6. Bookmark - My mom bought me a stainless steel bookmark and had READ engraved on it.  The top of the bookmark has a place to put a picture.
7. Giftcard - Yay for the $20 giftcard from my in-laws! Gotta love it.

I'm very excited to dig in to my new gifts, but first I have a list of other bloggish-bookish things to do:

1.  Finish Age of Innocence and write up my Ethan From/Age of Innocence blog post for the Classics Circuit.
2.  Write my end of year reading report, top books read, and challenge updates.
3.  Finalize and publish my Las Vegas post.

But first I have to sleep!  No sleep in Vegas, no sleep over Christmas, and I am too old to go so long without a solid nine hours of beddy-bye time.  And of course I have to enjoy all the other wonderful gifts I got:

Oh, and I should probably prepare for my next semester classes too.....hmmm....maybe I should stop typing now.

Unlock Worlds Winner

Unlock Worlds is my year-long, possibly perpetual, challenge inviting participants to read any banned or challenged book in an effort to collect reviews and protest against the censorship and banning of books.  So far, Unlock Worlds has 12 participants who have provided 31 reviews of 25 separate books.

The current participants, with the number of reviews, are:

Alyce at At Home with Books (2)
Cara at Ooh...Books (1)
Gavin at Page247 (1)
Louise at Lou's Pages (1)
Mee at Books of Mee (3)
Melissa at Betty and Boo Chronicles (1)
Michelle at su[shu] (6)
Padfoot and Prongs at Good Books Inc. (1)
Rebecca at Lost in Books (4)
sharazad at The Dangerous Pages Review (3)
Stacy at Stacy's Books (3)
Trisha at eclectic / eccentric (5)

For the second Unlock World's Giveaway, one lucky participant will receive one of the following books (his/her choice) plus a collection of ALA Banned Books Week Bookmarks.  The book choices are:

or any book, not already mooched, on my BookMooch list.  Congratulations to:

Michelle from su[shu]

Shoot me an email with your snail mail address and your book choice, and I'll get your book and bookmarks out to you as soon as possible.  My email is eclectic.eccentric@hotmail.com.

I hope the rest of you head on over to the Unlock Worlds website and start leaving your links for banned or challenged books.

Have a Very Merry Christmas!

Have a very Merry Dirty Christmas!

And my favorite:

Enjoy your Christmas!

Book Review: Women

Title: Women
Author: Annie Leibovitz (photography) and Susan Sontag (essay)
Published: 2000 Pages: 250
Genre: Photography

Plot Synopsis
Women is a collection of photographs depicting the diversity of women and designed to challenge the traditional views of female beauty and advance the more contemporary ideology of woman as equal.

My Thoughts
Women are beautiful. And I'm not using that term in the "oh isn't Britney Spears hot" kind of way. From the image of Polly Weydener, aged and wrinkled, to the image of lithe showgirls, the women featured in this collection uniquely exhibit the various characteristics of woman - and I think the characteristics of humans.  This substitution of humans for women is, I think, part of the point of this book.  Women are not a group separate from human; we are human, and we are as differentiated in looks, personalities, desires, ambitions, and abilities as men.

Often thought of as a subclass of humanity, women are often described in terms of their gender in a way men are not. Joe is a great race car driver; Betty is a great female race car driver. Or another example, the riddle:  A man and his son were in a car accident.  The man died on the way to the hospital, but the boy was rushed into surgery. The surgeon said "I can't operate on this boy. He's my son." How is this possible?

I remember hearing this sometime in high school, and it was astounding how many people could not immediately figure out the answer.  It seems so glaringly obvious.  But we assume surgeons are men, so the idea of the surgeon being the boy's mother does not spring to mind.  Answers I heard before Mother: the boy had two gay dads and the surgeon was the boy's stepfather.

As Susan Sontag writes in the beginning essay of Women, we are still "regarding individual man as an instance of humankind and an individual woman as an instance of...women".  Men represent humanity - in "language, narrative, group arrangements, and family customs".  Women are secondary, a subgroup within the larger category, not representative of the whole.

Descriptions of the images would just not be adequate, so if you are interested in seeing some of the pictures, go here.

I highly recommend purchasing this book for the images, the essay, the message.

Other Reviews
If I've missed yours, let me know!

A Striped Armchair; 

Question: What other photography books would you recommend?


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Challenges: Women UnBound, GLBT Challenge, Reading Resolutions, Take Another Chance,

Oo La La

I, Lucifer, Fallen Angel, Prince Of Darkness, Bringer of Light, Ruler of Hell, Lord of the Flies, Father of Lies, Apostate Supreme, Tempter of Mankind, Old Serpent, Prince of This World, Seducer, Accuser, Tormentor, Blasphemer, and without a doubt Best Fuck in the Seen and Unseen Universe (ask Eve, that minx) have decided - oo la la! - to tell all.

~ Glen Duncan
I, Lucifer

Do you have titles you like to call yourself (or would like other people to call you)? Let's hear them.

Movie Review: Charlie Bartlett

Title: Charlie Bartlett
Director: Jon Poll
Starring: Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey Jr.
Release: February 22, 2008
Country: America
Genre: Comedy
Rated: R
First Viewing: May 28, 2009

Plot Synopsis
Charlie Bartlett finds his path to popularity in playing psychiatrist to his fellow students.

Reviews of this film are 50-50 and I have to admit that I can't choose a side either. On the one hand, I loved the characters, the humor, and the script. On the other hand, I was a bit disappointed in the rather flip-flopping tone, the undeveloped message, and the artificially happy ending.

While seriously reminiscent of the majority of teen angst films, noticeably Ferris Bueller, I thought Charlie Bartlett did modernize the archetype. I found it funny and contemporary that this kid wants to help his classmates with psychiatry. Therapy and pills are definitely this generation's version of knocking over mailboxes and smoking. The characters were strong, if a bit glossed over. I particularly enjoyed Charlie's mother, a role which had the potential to be a true travesty but ended up being a wonderfully subdued portrayal of a complex personality.

The good points of the film help the viewer sympathize with a kid who is illegally passing out pills in a high school boys' bathroom, a tough sell when you think about it. All of this made for a great foundation and a great beginning. But then the movie starts its wrap-up and that's when it lost me. Everything started coming together quickly and cleanly and I had to make quite a few intellectual leaps. Then again, that could just be because my husband was so disinterested in the film he kept annoying me.....

Rating: 3/5

Secret Santa Surprise!!!

When an unknown package arrived in the mail, I just knew it was from my secret santa. And if my sixth sense wasn't working, the wonderful writing on the box declaring it to be my secret santa surprise would certainly have given it away. I looked at the box, fingered the top of it, and promptly put it over by the other Christmas gifts, determined to wait until Christmas morning to open it up and check out the goodies inside.

Not five minutes later, I was exclaiming, to no one in particular, as I excitedly opened my present. I only feel mild guilt. It is, afterall, at least the right month. And I know you won't blame me for being a bit greedy when you see the wonderful presents I received:

That's right fellow bloggers, feast your eyes and weep with jealousy. I got a cocoa mug, cocoa with marshmallows, multi-flavored cocoa, two - count 'em - two Christmas ornaments, candy canes, and John Green's Paper Towns. I can feel your envy seeping through the computer screen.

I got all of this thanks to Briana from The Book Pixie, where she reviews YAL. She is also into photography and has a site for that as well. And she's a home schooled junior - may I just say wow! Thank you so much for my lovely gifts!

Book Review: The Purloined Boy

Title:  The Purloined Boy
Author:  Mortimus Clay
Published: 2009  Pages:  250
Genre:  YAL

Plot Synopsis
Trevor Upjohn's dreams are disturbing.  As he sleeps in his cot in Superbia, watched over by Guardians and bogeymen, he dreams of "home", a place he has been told is fictional, a word he has been told is dirty.  These dreams lead him to The Guild and begins his adventure.

My Thoughts
I love the concept of this book - you really should be scared of what's in your closet and it does want to eat you.  All I have to say is - I knew it!

The two main characters of the book, Maggie and Trevor, are not fully developed, but they are both well-positioned for some interesting character insight in later books in the series.  Trevor, the protagonist, has your typical "reluctant hero" persona, and Maggie has that whole spunky romantic interest thing going on, but their characterization is different enough to make them intriguing and likeable.  The real character stars of this book for me were Maggie's uncle Epictetus and the Master Illuminator Ichabod.

Epictetus appealed to me in both his moderate, realist outlook on life and his superhuman kickassery.  Ichabod is a crotchety old man who apparently has memory issues.  Both of these men are Masters of the Guild, leaders of the resistance against Lucien, the head of the bogeymen.  I think you know you are an adult when you read young adult literature and you immediately are drawn to the adults in the book.

There are some almost too familiar elements in the book.  It is clearly the start of a quest narrative, a la Sword in the Stone.  Also, the adults in the novel were at times frustratingly obtuse and stupidly ignoring or discounting the children.  I've always had a problem with that part of young adult lit.  At the same time, the premise of the world felt particularly unique, and I look forward to seeing how Clay continues to develop this world.

One portion of the plot which I found absolutely fascinating is the origins of the fight between the Guild and Lucien's bogeymen.  I would tell you more, but I would hate to spoil it.  Hopefully, future books in the series will delve deeper into this, revealing not only more about Lucien's strange journey, but also about the civilization that preceded this time.  Hmm...that was probably very vague for those of you who haven't read the book.

Memorable Scene and Quote:  Maggie is off to fish (fishing is finding children who are beginning to remember home) again, and Trevor's typical male goodbye was 'See ya'.  Maggie, rightly so, is a bit miffed by his indifference. Fishing is, after all, a dangerous job.  Originally, she decides to punch him in the stomach when she  next sees him, but then this beautifully typical female thought pops into her head:  "what if she were carried away by bogeys while he watched? She could see his face, twisted with remorse. 'I'm sorry Maggie!' she could hear him saying.  'I'm sorry I never told you how wonderful you are.  You're the bravest girl who ever lived! Maggie, forgive me!' She smiled.  Serve him right.  Then he'd appreciate me.  But it would be too late and he'd have to live with the guilt of it for the rest of his life."  That's right sister - we know they'll appreciate us more if they are helpless in the face of our death!

Other Reviews
If I've missed yours, let me know!

Bart's Bookshelf; Fyrefly's Blog; Reviews by Lola; Karin's Book Nook; 

Question:  Do you like to read books in a series as they come out or do you prefer to wait for all of them to be released?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FTC Disclosure: I received this book from the author in exchange for a glowing review.  I'm not sure I upheld my end of the bargain, so I guess it's possible the author may track me down in an attempt to get the book back.  Oh wait, the author of this book is dead, so that's highly unlikely.

Viva las Vegas!

Once again I am heading to Vegas with family.  It's been a bit of a tradition for the past five years or so.  My mother, aunt, uncle, husband, and I try to go once a year, and from time to time, my grandma and grandpa come with.  Unfortunately they won't make it this year, but we have a newcomer to our group - my cousin Tara, who just turned 21 this week.  I'm so excited!

I've scheduled some posts for your reading pleasure while I'm gone, but I won't be able to swing by and comment on your blogs until after Christmas!  Until then, happy blogging.

Book Review: Definitely Dead and All Together Dead

Warning: These reviews will not make sense if you haven't read the book, and probably contain some spoilers.  And heck, they may not even make sense as I am probably too tired to be doing this right now. :)

Title:  Definitely Dead
Author:  Charlaine Harris
Published: 2007 Pages: 324
Genre:  Fantasy

My Thoughts
Apparently reading the Sookie short story "One Word Answer" would have saved me quite a bit of confusion in the first portion of the book, so if you are reading the series, I would recommend reading it before Definitely Dead.

The plot premise is that Sookie's cousin Hadley has died, and to tie up some loose ends, Sookie travels to Hadley's home.  Unfortunately (or fortunately depending), in Sookie's world tying up loose ends involves vampires, witches, weres, blood, death, and sex.

My nitpick with this series has always been Sookie's apparently irresistible charm to every male (and some female) supernatural who crosses her path.  We've now seen Sookie flirt or sleep with Bill, Alcide, Sam, and Eric.  Lo and behold, in this installment, Sookie hooks up with a newbie named Quinn, who I have to say is rather fascinating.  But seriously?  Is this series going to be a continuous string of liaisons with male supes? Eh, we shall see.

Other Reviews
If I've missed yours, let me know!

Firefly's Book Blog; Rhapsody in Books;


Title:  All Together Dead
Author:  Charlaine Harris
Published: 2008 Pages: 323
Genre:  Fantasy

My Thoughts
I have to admit: I very much enjoyed this book.  With much more vampire politics and less Sookie's love life, I found the plot to be quite interesting.  Sookie attends a Vampire summit with her Louisiana brood including Eric, Pam, Bill, and the Queen and her entourage. Much is happening in this book: the Queen is on trial for her husband's death, Quinn has a mysterious-to-Sookie past, Barry the Bellboy returns as a telepath for a vampire King, the Fellowship is making waves of course, and on and on and on.  I enjoyed the inclusions of events and characters from prior books being the basis of this installment's plot.  By the end, I felt that much of what had been happening was nicely wrapped up.

That being said, Sookie's love life is still rather prominent with Quinn, Eric, and Bill all playing roles, as well as some random "I want to do you" comments from Barry.  While the focus was on the political situation and Sookie's telepathic abilities, we still had to read about her bitterness towards Bill, which I found a bit childish and hope the series can move on; we also have Pam confronting Sookie about Eric's feelings for her which seemed out of character and very highschoolish; and then of course we have Quinn getting all jealous over Sookie's forced connection to Eric.

Even with my minor annoyance over the love triangle quadrangle  um, what comes next, I still really do enjoy reading these books,  primarily because they are quick, easy, entertaining reads.

Other Reviews
If I've missed yours, let me know!

Rhapsody in Books; Fyrefly's Book Blog;

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Challenges: 101 Fantasy Reading Challenge, Sookie Stackhouse Challenge,

Terrifying

A mother answering her child who wonders why she must prostitute herself if they are not so very poor:

'Child, be reasonable,' she smiles. 'Why should my downfall be your rise? Why should I burn in Hell while you flap around in heaven? In short, why should the world be a better place for you than it has been for me?'

~Michel Faber
The Crimson Petal and the White

Why should the world be better for our children than it has been for us?

Movie Review: Fired Up

Title: Fired Up!
Director: Will Gluck
Starring: Eric Christian Olsen, Nicholas D'Agosto, Sarah Roemer
Release: February 20, 2009
Country: USA
Genre: Comedy
Rated: PG-13
First Viewing: July 30, 2009

Plot Synopsis
Nick and Shawn, two popular football players, decide to join their school's cheer team so they can go to the cheer camp and get with the 300 girls who will be there.

My Thoughts
Hilarious and not exactly what you would expect. For example, there are no wayward boobs flopping around in this movie. I definitely expected gratuitous boob shots; it seemed like that kind of movie. Somehow though, Gluck managed to make a brains-free, low-humor, sex-obsessed, teen-type film without throwing around a ton of naked female bodies. There are definitely half-dressed...er...1/4 dressed girls jumping around, but really there is just as much naked boy.

Many critics didn't like this film, but I think they made a mistake in viewing - they watched it from a serious perspective. In my opinion, this was more like a parody, and if viewed in that way, the film stands out as a subtle but vivid wink at the popular teen films. Plus, it was good naughty fun.

Graphic Novels Challenge

Rules and guidelines:

* The challenge starts on January 1st 2010 and ends on December 31st (but we don't mind you starting early.)
* You don't have to make a list beforehand (but you can, of course! Lists are great because they give ideas to people who aren't sure what to read. And if you do make one, don't feel forced to stick to it!)
* There will be mini-challenges! Look for a post with more info on that soon.
* Overlaps with other challenges are totally fine.

The Levels: You're more than free to adjust your level of participation after the challenge has begun
Beginner (3 Comics or Graphic Novels)
Intermediate (3-10)
Expert (10+)

I'm going for Intermediate, and I just love the range of that level!

My List

1. Jar of Fools by Jason Lutes
   
2. Chiggers by Hope Larson
   
3. Fables series
   
4. Sandman series by Neil Gaiman
   
5. The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman
   
6. Bone by Jeff Smith
   
7. Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now by Andre Jordan
   
8. Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
   
9. Nightmares and Fairy Tales by Serena Valentino
   
10. A Contract with God by Will Eisner
11. The Eternal Smile by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim
12. britten and brulightly by Hannah Berry 

Book Review: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Title:  Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Author:  Philip K. Dick
Published: 1968  Pages:  216
Genre: Science Fiction

Plot Synopsis
Rick Deckard is a bounty hunter, responsible for tracking down and killing any android that has managed to escape and return to Earth. His current assignment involves eight androids who emigrated from Mars.  He knows his job, but androids have become almost too human.

My Thoughts
This was one strange book.  For the first 50 pages or so I had a very difficult time getting in to the story.  I was quite unsure of what was going on, feeling as if I had been unceremoniously dropped down in the middle of a strange world where I barely spoke the language.  Then for the next 50 pages, I found myself focusing on the similarities and differences between what I was reading and what I saw in the film Bladerunner.  I wish I would have read the book before watching the movie, but alas, no luck.  Because of this, I've decided to organize my thoughts around comparing the two versions of this story.


Book to Movie
The film Bladerunner is based upon this novel, and while the similarities are there, the two stories are markedly different. In both, Rick Deckard is an android bounty hunter, Rachel Rosen is an unusually human non-human, and Earth is a post-apocalyptic mess.  That is where the stories massively diverge.  One of, if not the, main theme in the novel is absent from the film version: the empathic ability of humans as evidenced by their feelings for animals and their desire to identify with other humans.

In the novel, human beings are obsessed with animals, owning and caring for them in an extremely maternal fashion; their self-worth is in part based on the size of their animal and is very much tied in to whether they can own a real animal or an electric one.  Also, humans are involved in a pseudo-religious activity where they plug in to a virtual reality where they emotionally connect to the other humans who are simultaneously plugged in.  These two characteristics of the human population are integrally tied to Deckard's journey of self-discovery in the novel, but both are absent - and in effect Deckard's evolution - from the film.

I won't say, however, that I think the film needed these things.  The film is fundamentally different from the book in that its purpose was action and entertainment, not philosophical questioning.  I enjoyed both the book and the movie, but for very different reasons.


Other Reviews
If I've missed yours, let me know!

Stainless Steel Droppings;  Olduvai Reads;   somewhere i have never travelled; 

Question:  Is there any book title better than this one? I mean, seriously; what an awesome title!



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Challenges: Sci-Fi Challenge, 42 Challenge, Read the Book See the Movie, Take Another Chance,  

Rory Gilmore Project

The goal of this challenge is to read every book discussed or read by Rory Gilmore from the Gilmore Girls television series. As near as I can tell based on various sources, the total list includes 243 books. Of those, I have already read 37, but many of those were BB (before blog) hence, I don't have reviews.

My List

1. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
3. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
   
4. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
5. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
6. 1984 by George Orwell
7. Beowulf
8. Carrie by Stephen King
9. Emma by Jane Austen
10. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
11. Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger
12. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
13. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
14. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
15. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
16. Inferno by Dante Alighieri
    
17. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
18. Macbeth by William Shakespeare
19. Othello by William Shakespeare
20. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
21. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
22. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
23. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
24. The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
25. The Crucible by Arthur Miller
26. The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
27. The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
28. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
29. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
30. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
31. The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe
32. The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
33. The Shining by Stephen King
34. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee
35. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
36. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
37. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
    

Books to Read Before I Die

The list of books I want to read before I die is unbelievably long, so this challenge is a nice kick in the pants. The idea is to make a list of 10 to 20 books that I really want to read, and then duh-duh, read them. I'm staying small on this and sticking with 10.

List of 10

1. A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
2. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
3. Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs
4. Howl by Allen Ginsburg
5. Genius by Harold Bloom
6. Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
7. White Noise by Don DeLillo
8. Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
9. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
10. Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Reading Resolutions Challenge

The Reading Resolutions Challenge, hosted by Jenny, asks readers to have a plan with some defined goals. Beautiful. Last year, my New Year's Resolution was to read more "worthy" books and less guilty pleasures. I have yet to figure the total, but right now I'm at about 50% of each, a marked improvement from my last three years of reading.

This year, I'm making the following reading resolutions:

1. Read 100 books
2. 50% or more "worthy" books
3. 10 non-fiction books
4. 10 non-fiction personal essays
5. Review 75% of the books I read
6. Read 3 TBR books for every 1 I buy
   

2010 TBR Challenge

MizB's TBR Challenge is just what I need to get me going on the amazingly large list of books I own but have not yet read. I would tell you the number, but it's too embarrassing. My TBR pile is larger than most people's library.

The Rules:
12 books total at any time: no re-reads
No changing the list after January 1, 2010
Overlap with other challenges is fine

List of 12

1. A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
2. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
3. Three Lives by Gertrude Stein
4. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
5. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
6. Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
7. White Noise by Don DeLillo
8. Gravity's Rainboy by Thomas Pynchon
9. In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
10. Cavedweller by Dorothy Allison
11. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
12. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

List of 12 Alternates

1. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
2. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
3. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
4. Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton
5. She by H. Rider Haggard
6. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
7. Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
8. Dune by Terry Pratchett
9. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
10. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick
    
11. Howl by Allen Ginsburg
    
12. Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
    

World Religions Challenge

I like the openness of this challenge. Participants have four levels to choose from, all religions are up for grabs, and not only books, but also movies, music, plays, services, holidays, and rituals are allowed.

The Four Levels:

1. The Bare Bones Path (Also Know As: The *Technically* There's Only Three Path): Read something about what are *technically* the only world religions, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. (These are considered, by some scholars, to be the only World Religions because while Judaism and Hinduism have the numbers, they don't proselytize or really invite other people to join, making it more of an ethnicity).

2. The Penthouse Path (Also Known As: The Five Biggies Path): Read something about the five major world religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

3. The Universalist Path (Also Known As: The Above and Beyond Path): Read something by all five of the major world religions PLUS more books about any or all of the following: Shintoism, Animism, Taoism, Confucianism, Wicca, Mythology, Atheism, Occult, Tribal Religions, Voodoo, Unitarianism, Baha'i, Cults, Scientology, Mysticism, Rastafarianism, Jainism, Sikhism, Zorastrianism, Agnosticism, Gnosticism, Satanism, Manichaeism, Deism, Comparative Religion, Religious Philosophy, Jungiansim, Symbolism, Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, etc., etc. etc. (you may also read about another aspect of one of the 5 Biggies)

4. The Unshepherded Path (Also Known As: The Don't Tell Me What to Do Path): Read as many books as you would like about whatever religions you want.

I can't help but sign up for The Unshepherded Path as it appeals both to my wishy-washy-ness, and is most representative of my own belief system.

My List of Possibilities (because I own them but haven't read them)

1. The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis
2. Bhagavad Gita
3. Book of Shadows: A Modern Woman's Journey into the Wisdom of Witchcraft and the Magic of the Goddess by Phyllis Curot
4. The Elements of Taoism
5. The Elements of the Qabalah
6. The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton
7. Voodoo in New Orleans by Robert Tallant
8. Zen for Americans by Soyen Shaku
9. The Bible Unearthed by Neil Asher Silberman
10. Dead Sea Scrolls by Jonathan G. Campbell
11. The Devil in Legend and Literature by Maximilian Josef Rudwin
12. The End of Faith by Sam Harris
13. Finding God in Lord of the Rings by Kurt D. Bruner
14. The Knight's Templars: God's Warriors, Devil's Bankers by Frank Senello
15. The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff
16. The Te of Piglet by Benjamin Hoff
17. Baudolino by Umberto Eco
18. The Flies by Jean-Paul Sartre
19. Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
20. The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman
21. The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff
    

GLBTQ Challenge

The basic idea of this challenge is to read books about GLBT topics and/or by GLBT authors.

The challenge runs year-round, and there will be three levels of participation:

* Lambda Level: Read 4 books.
* Pink Triangle Level: Read 8 books.
* Rainbow Level: Read 12 or more books.

I'm committing to Lambda level for this challenge, but I hope to go further.  Unfortunately, if I commit to the level I want on every challenge I'm interested in, I'll have to read about 500 books next year. :)

My List

1. Ash by Malinda Lo (lesbian romance)
2. Affinity by Sarah Waters (lesbian author)
3. Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out (about bisexuality)
4. Wicked by Gregory Maguire (gay author)
5. A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf (lesbian author)
6. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (bisexual author)
7. Three Lives by Gertrude Stein (lesbian author)
8. Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs (homosexual content, gay author)
9. Women by Annie Leibovitz (lesbian women and families)
10. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (lesbian author and lesbian romance)
11. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by M.A. Shaffer and A. Barrows (positive portrayal of homosexual relationship)
12. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (positive portrayal of homosexual relationship) 
13. You Better Not Cry by Augusten Burroughs (gay author and content)

2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge

The name says it all; this challenge is about reading young adult literature, which I must say is right up my alley. Plus, this challenge does not require a list in advance and re-reads are welcome.

There are four levels:

The Mini YA Reading Challenge – Read 12 Young Adult novels.
Just My Size YA Reading Challenge – Read 25 Young Adult novels.
Stepping It Up YA Reading Challenge – Read 50 Young Adult novels.
Super Size Me YA Reading Challenge – Read 75 Young Adult novels.

I'm hoping to complete the Just My Size level and read 25 YA novels.  We shall see what happens!

1. The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
   
2. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
   
3. Paper Towns by John Green
   
4. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
5. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
6. Vampire Mountain by Darren Shan
7. Trials of Death by Darren Shan
8. The Vampire Prince by Darren Shan
9. Hunters of the Dusk by Darren Shan
10. The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness
11. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
12. s
13. s
14. s
15. s
16. s
17. s
18. s
19. s
20. s
21. s
22. s
23. s
24. s
25. s
    

Flashback Challenge

The Challenge has three possible levels:

Bookworm - Up to three books
Scholar - Four to six books
Literati - Over six books

Within these levels, there are optional mini-challenges:

1. Re-read a favorite book from your childhood
2. Re-read a book assigned to you in high school
3. Re-read a book you loved as an adult

I'm going for Scholar and plan on reading the following:

1. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (Childhood)
2. Eragon by Christopher Paolini (High School)
3. The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman (Adult)

For my other three books, I'm leaving my options a bit open:

1. Sequels to the Eragon or The Golden Compass
2. Wicked by Gregory Maguire
3. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster