January 2011- 4

Perfectly Secret edited by Susan Musgrave was a bit disappointing. The overall idea, secrets of teens, was a good concept to start with but I just didn't feel like the book delivered. Easy teen read so no regrets on finally reading this quick read, it just feel short for me though.

Oregon is recently holding a special place for me so when I heard about this book about teen runaways from Oregon I was especially interested. Live Through This by Debra Gwartney tells the story of Gwartney's teen daughters when they were runaways years ago. Her story shares her years long horrific battle to try to save the lives of her two girls. The book was well written and I liked that it came from the mother's perspective and didn't focus on the the girl's experience as much, as that is their story not hers. I was disheartened by some of the Oregon state laws that allowed Gwartney to have to fight harder. I also liked that the true story had a happy ending, though some parts were a bit graphic (you'll see what I mean if you read it). Sometimes with non fiction you don't get to see what happened after and since Gwartney wrote this much after the fact the reader gets the conclusion they need.

Anyone who knows me for a minute knows I love elephants, or as I call them dramblys (Lithuanian for elephant). I don't remember where I saw Elephant Reflections by Karl Ammann and Dale Peterson, but as soon as I did I knew I wanted to read it. What beautiful amazing pictures and history on elephants. My favorite sections were perspectives, passages, and portraits.

I am a huge Sex and the City fan, which has allowed for all of author Candace Bushnell's books to make my to read list. I've tried several times to read Sex and the City the book but haven't been able to get through the first few pages. It's odd cause I like the rest of her books but I guess maybe because I'm searching for Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha, Miranda, and Mr Big I just can't get through those first few pages. I listened to One Fifth Avenue recently and enjoyed it enough that I may make another attempt at SATC book. One Fifth is set in NYC, of course. It tells the story of a historical apartment building and it's upper middle class to unbelievably rich owners. It's not a serious read but it had some interesting twists and turns and some good old fashioned NY romance of course.

Well thats the end of January's reads. I wish I had a few more to report, 4 doesn't seem all that big a number but I did start back up with school and have a busy month. February's a shorter month but I have a week's vacation and a box full of books to keep me busy :)