Book Review 18 of 24 (Scrapbooks Are Paper Blogs)

The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt
By Caroline Preston
Barnes & Noble link

(Fun fact: I just found out about this book earlier yesterday at my job. Read it in two sittings and decided that it was an appropriate last review.)


When given the tools, anyone can become the person they were meant to become. The influences could come from anywhere, but usually you can discern the usual suspects. For the narrator of The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt, this was an easy one: her own parents. But it takes more than that to get this girl going. Adventures await her as she leaves the farming countryside of New Hampshire for the wide-eyed wonder of New York State in this uniquely-presented tale.

Book Review: 8 of 24 (Holy Mackerel!)

The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University
By Kevin Roose
Barnes & Noble link

(Lordy, I waited too long to read this glorious tome. Hope not to do that for Rob Sheffield's newest book.)

There are times when you confront someone who has different beliefs than you and you wonder "what is it like to be them? And most importantly, are the stereotypes true?" Kevin Roose, instead of settling with stereotypes, decides to dive right into the world of evangelical Christians. The Unlikely Disciple is the chronicle of that adventure.

Guess what? You get another review!

The Name of This Book is Talking Heads
Krista Reese
Amazon link

(Fun fact: I finished this book in about two hours, while waiting for an event that I was doing for my internship.)

Book review time!

Concrete Island
J.G. Ballard
Barnes & Noble link

I promised a review of this book and y'all shall get it!

Best of 2009: Book Edition

This is running late, so here we go with the best of 2009 in books! (with even briefer reviews)

Best books released in 2009:

Yea, a book review!

After Dark
by Haruki Murakami
Amazon link

Yet another book review...

Their Eyes Were Watching God
By Zora Neale Hurston
Amazon link

One thing that I want to get out of the way is that the descriptions (especially later in Chapter 18) are some of the most beautiful and image-provoking I'd ever read in recent years. Hurston's words are earthy, with no trace of pretentiousness. Why can't all literature be like that? Why do some people feel the need to get all superfluous? Hurston proved that a writer can do it without putting down the reader with esoteric references that only Super Snobby English Majors would get (yes, I'm looking at you, Ms. Pessl...).