books I've read

Anne Hawn's books

Who Moved My Cheese?
If Democrats Had Any Brains, They'd Be Republicans
Scientific Secrets for Self-Control
Just One Damned Thing After Another
The Vanishing
Exercises in Knitting
The Good Dream
The Very Best of Edgar Allan Poe
The Chosen
BT-Kids' Knits
Talking God
The Professor
The Christmas Files
The Finisher
Home Decor for 18-Inch Dolls: Create 10 Room Settings with Furniture and 15 Outfits with Accessories
Dracula and Other Stories
A New Song
Christy
All Quiet on the Western Front
File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents


Anne Hawn Smith's favorite books »

I'm reading 150 Books

2019 Reading Challenge
2019 Reading Challenge 19614 members
<b>Are you ready to set your 2019 reading goal?</b> This is a supportive, fun group of people looking for people just like you. Track your annual reading goal here with us, and we have challenges, group reads, and other fun ways to help keep you on pace. There will never be a specific number of books to read here or pressure to read more than you can commit to. Your goal is five? Great! You think you want to read 200? Very cool! We won't kick you out for not participating regularly, but we'll love it if you do. Join us!

Books we've read

The Help
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
The Night Circus
The Golden Compass
11/22/63
The Little Lady Agency
Catch-22
The Good Father
A Discovery of Witches
The Knife of Never Letting Go
Fahrenheit 451
Frankenstein
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
A Christmas Carol
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
The Color Purple
Matched
Cloud Atlas
The Princess Bride
The Catcher in the Rye


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Sunday, May 31, 2009

Death of Glutton

Death of a Glutton (Hamish Macbeth Mystery, Book 8) Death of a Glutton by M.C. Beaton


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Hamish Macbeth again finds an unpleasant person to get murdered in his village. This time it is a truly obnoxious woman, who is a glutton in everything...food, people, spite, and bad manners. She is truly horrible! When she finally ends up getting killed, the reader is not surprised. The problem is that there are so many people who hated her and had motive to kill her, that separating the sheep from the goats is hard work for Hamish.

I liked this one better than most of them. There is something in seeing a truly frightful person get her comeuppance that is a great reading pleasure. We've all been taught not to gloat over a person's punishment, so the delight we feel in a book is a double pleasure...we don't even have to see the other person's side of the problem because he or she is not real. It's OK to hate characters in a book and this book provides a doozy.

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Thursday, May 28, 2009

The Spy Who Came for Christmas

The Spy Who Came For Christmas The Spy Who Came For Christmas by David Morrell


My review


This is a quick and easy mystery. The plot hinges on a baby who is to be the "Peace Baby," and has been stolen by a spy. The plot is a little thin, but it is great for pick-me-up reading.


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Switching to Russia: Russka: The Novel of Russia

Russka: The Novel of Russia Russka: The Novel of Russia by Edward Rutherfurd


My review





I've finished reading about Africa for a while and am switching to Russia. I plan to spend this summer reading about those two countries so I can plan history classes for next year's homeschool. I figure that our kids will need to know a lot about those two counties in the coming years and fortunately, in homeschool, I can change the curriculum to meet current needs.

This book is a great one if you want to understand the various ethnic groups that were gathered together to form the USSR. It is easy to see why these groups of people may not always get along. Edward Rutherfurd has done a thorough job in describing the various people and their folkways.

Monday, May 18, 2009

The English Patient

The English Patient The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje


My review


rating: 4 of 5 stars
I thoroughly enjoyed this. The four people who end up at a villa which was being used as a field hospital in the closing days of WWII are unique and well drawn. The only weakness, I felt, was the reaction of the Sheik in the end. I felt that he should have stayed around longer and explored his new feelings. Other than that, it was a great book.


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The Darwin Conspiracy

The Darwin Conspiracy The Darwin Conspiracy by John Darnton


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a very interesting take on the question of Darwin's daughter and the letters Darwin left behind. I guess I thought Darwin's voyage was more of a fact finding expedition based on a well thought out theory. Instead it was embroiled with controversy before and after Darwin's famous theories. While a lot of this is speculation and fantasy, it does pose some interesting questions and sets Darwin's theories in context. Darwin was a plant collector who was looking for new sources for plants when he discovered this area untouched by humanity. The book doesn't actually deal that much with the actual theories, but more of Darwin's personal life and conclusions.

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Sunday, May 17, 2009

Marjorie Morningstar

Marjorie Morningstar Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk


My review


rating: 5 of 5 stars
I read this in college and it had a great impact on my life. I decided to re-read it to see how I felt about it. What a pleasure! I could easily see why I related to it. Marjorie was trying to break free from here Jewish family constraints and pick a new pattern for her life. I had so many flashbacks when reading this! This is one of those really good books that is not depressing. It was fun watching Marjorie understand just what she wanted in her life and then enjoying her final decisions.


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