World Book Night

The US is participating in World Book Night this year. More info uh...

here.

Here's the list of books and what I think of them. Because what's LJ for if not my opinions of stuff? :)

>The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (Little, Brown Books for >Young Readers)

Just read this. It's interesting, because I borrowed it from the library, then borrowed the movie "Smoke Signals". I watched the movie, then saw who wrote it. And only then read this book. From watching the movie, I knew the book would probably be funny. And it is. It also would've been a good candidate for the Newbery due to DEATH and more DEATH, but he mentioned boners and the M word, and of course you can't recommend a book to kids with that in it. Anyway, despite the Newbery vibe I got off of it, I did like it pretty well. I will be reading The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven also by him, and what the movie was based off of.

So yes, worth reading.

>Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (Speak)
>I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (Ballantine)
>Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger (Da Capo)

Not read.

>Kindred by Octavia E. Butler (Beacon Press)

I do mean to read this. I like her other books and don't like them at the same time.

>Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (Tor)

Sigh. For the longest time, I listed this as my favorite book. But OSC, man.. Sigh.

>Little Bee by Chris Cleave (Simon & Schuster)

Not read.

>The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)

YES!! Best pick so far on the list!

>Blood Work by Michael Connelly (Grand Central)
>The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz (Riverhead); a Spanish-language edition, >La breve y maravillosa vida de Óscar Wao (Vintage Espanol), will also be made available.
>Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo (Candlewick)
>Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (Vintage)
>Peace Like a River by Leif Enger (Grove Atlantic)
>A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick (Algonquin)
>Q Is for Quarry by Sue Grafton (Berkley)
>The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead)
>A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving (Ballantine)
>The Stand by Stephen King (Anchor)
>The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (Perennial)
>The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (W.W. Norton)
>The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (Mariner)
>The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien (Mariner)
>Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (Perennial)
>My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult (Atria)
>Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson (Picador)
>The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (Back Bay)

Not read.

>The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (Broadway)

Meant to read. Haven't.

>Just Kids by Patti Smith (Ecco)
>The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (Scribner)

Gah. I did read this, and then wondered why I did.

>The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Knopf Books for Young Readers)

Tried to read this. Got bored pretty quick.

-Well, a lot of those are popular with book groups. Which for me means 'meh'.

I guess I didn't have a whole lot of opinions, since mostly I haven't read these. But neither do I intend to read them. Even if they're handed to me free. So.