confessions of a former miss-know-it-all

Good Reads

Ashley's bookshelf: read

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Angle of Repose

by Wallace Stegner

Possibly the best piece of fiction I have read.

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Crossing to Safety

by Wallace Stegner

Just finished this book last night. Why did I wait so long to read it? Saw myself in one of the characters..which was painful. I was envious as I read many parts of this book, because Stegner is such a genius. I was jealous of his gift....

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Twilight

by Stephenie Meyer

I liked the movie well enough..good eye candy. And was the only person on the planet who had not read the book. I was disappointed. It was like reading a script of The Young And The Restless. It's one thing to sit through it..it's anoth...

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The Lost Symbol

by Dan Brown

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And Still We Rise: The Trials and Triumphs of Twelve Gifted Inner-City Students

by Miles Corwin

While the author's style was a little redundant at times, the subject matter and characters in this book were fresh and uncensored. Seeing the senior year of high school in a gang and drug ridden neighborhood in east L.A. through the eyes ...

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The Da Vinci Code

by Dan Brown

When I initially read this book five years ago, I would have given it an A++. Question an organized religion...are you kidding? I was unaware of most or all aspects of the Catholic faith, and it felt like being a peeping Tom inside of a s...

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Expecting Adam: A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic

by Martha N. Beck

Honest. Even if some of the honesty exists only within the Author. An excellent writer. A fast read. Worth it.

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Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution

by Natalie S. Bober

The true first lady of The United States. Ahead of her time in so many ways. A very quick read and a wonderful look at one of my heroines.

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Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples

by Harville Hendrix

The reason that Gavin and I are still married. Life saving. A deep look at why we are attracted to who we are, and why it's supposed to be so gut-wrenchingly hard at times. A wake-up call for those in a marriage on auto-pilot. Loved it.

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Outliers

by Malcolm Gladwell

There is a reason why so-called random things happen...phew! A quick and easy read. Inspiring. Definitely a must-read.

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Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

by Steven D. Levitt

It's been a while since I've read this. I need to go back and re-read it. A bit controversial in some points I remember..like the discussion about abortion having the upside that it prevents future criminals from being born and therefore ...

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An Insider's View of Mormon Origins

by Grant H. Palmer

A must read for anyone who is a Latter-day Saint.

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Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World

by Tracy Kidder

Inspiring. A great read. Highly recommend it. Changed my life in a way. A human, realistic and motivational read for sure.

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Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time

by Greg Mortenson

A little long..but worth it. Inspiring story. I definitely recommend.

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Eat, Pray, Love

by Elizabeth Gilbert

Couldn't finish it. Enough already lady.

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The Kite Runner

by Khaled Hosseini

Excellent read. Disturbing in some parts. But shockingly real. A trip around the world in a quick read.

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Under the Banner of Heaven

by Jon Krakauer

Truth is stranger than fiction. A quick read that is told with sympathy, and without judgement. Highly recommend!

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The Count of Monte Cristo

by Alexandre Dumas

One of my favorite books. Good verses evil, and the battle for redemption. A must-read.

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To Kill a Mockingbird

by Harper Lee

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Wuthering Heights

by Emily Brontë

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Les Misérables

by Victor Hugo

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Gone With the Wind

by Margaret Mitchell

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Tuesdays with Morrie

by Mitch Albom

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Siddhartha

by Hermann Hesse

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The Scarlet Letter

by Nathaniel Hawthorne

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Uncle Tom's Cabin

by Harriet Beecher Stowe

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The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

by C.S. Lewis

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Memoirs of a Geisha

by Arthur Golden

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The Red Tent

by Anita Diamant

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The Glass Castle

by Jeannette Walls

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The Prophet

by Khalil Gibran

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The Secret Life of Bees

by Sue Monk Kidd

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Mere Christianity

by C.S. Lewis

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The God of Small Things

by Arundhati Roy

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The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

by Benjamin Franklin

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The Chosen

by Chaim Potok

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The Screwtape Letters

by C.S. Lewis

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The Giving Tree

by Shel Silverstein

Why is it that depending on the mood I am in, or perhaps how much sleep I have had, I either love this book or hate it? Lately it bugs me more often than not. I used to think that this book's message was the bounds of a mother's love and ...

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Where the Sidewalk Ends

by Shel Silverstein

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Oh, the Places You'll Go!

by Dr. Seuss

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The Education of Little Tree

by Forrest Carter

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John Adams

by David McCullough

One of the best books I have read. A voracious journal-er, whose main stumbling block was his own sense of inadequacy, John Adams was one of the most complex characters in our nation's history. Passionately believing in his own set of ide...

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Living History

by Hillary Rodham Clinton

Read this book in my younger days when anything written by a liberal was basically on par with cheap drugstore porn. Was thankfully confused when I found myself impressed with Hillary Clinton, against what I thought was my better judgement...

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The God Delusion

by Richard Dawkins

For religious and non-religious alike..this is a must read. He has a nice sense of humor, but his dry English wit can seem a bit callous and unsympathetic. His reasoning is sound and his dialogue is the type of kindling that will jump sta...

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1776

by David McCullough

We were the underdogs. And if you ever thought that it was divine providence that led George Washington's ragged group of men to overcome the odds and claim America as their own, you doubt it while reading this book.

The scenes are he...

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Pride and Prejudice

by Jane Austen

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The Catcher in the Rye

by J.D. Salinger

Much ado about nothing? Hmmm. I think that it was revolutionary for it's time, because no one wrote the truth. This book, and the main character, seem so ordinary today, because we are comfortable with rambling self-reflection. But when...

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The Corrections

by Jonathan Franzen

I used to think that I loved reading non-fiction because I preferred a true tale over fiction. However, when you read an author like Franzen in the book The Corrections, you realize that fiction may be the only real place you can tell the ...

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Freedom

by Jonathan Franzen

Is it just because I had such high expectations, after reading The Corrections, that I was disappointed? On the cover of Time, on Oprah, written up in every publication, etc. I mean, how could it be anything but fantastic? It will certai...

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Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life

by Byron Katie

I give this book five stars because I think that it is a profound idea that Byron Katie is introducing- especially for those who are tormented with the weight of worry about those people and circumstances around them that they feel as thoug...

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On Chesil Beach

by Ian McEwan

On Chesil Beach was an incredibly quick read that grabs you from the start (hello- a virgin on her wedding night set in England in the 1960's), and continues to impress with the vivid details the author paints each scene with, until the ver...

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Me Talk Pretty One Day

by David Sedaris

I almost wet my pants at times. I think that is the greatest compliment that you can give to an author who is telling a witty and funny little story. He is telling stories from his own life, which are at times terribly painful, yet he doe...

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Naked

by David Sedaris

Another winner by Sedaris. Every story a gem. Every childhood tragedy and embarrassment turned in to a witty self deprecative look in to his self. Laughed throughout the entire thing, and got teary at a couple of them. I highly recommen...

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Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim

by David Sedaris

What can I say, I love David Sedaris. Laughing outloud with every darling short story. Amazed by his ability to tell such intimate and sometimes painful stories from his childhood where he can see the insanity but makes no judgement about...

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The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

I was surprised that I liked it. Thought that it was going to be just fluff. And there was plenty of that. But plenty of thought provoking themes as well. Great stuff for young adults, and a great way to start a conversation about Ameri...

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The Diary of Mattie Spenser

by Sandra Dallas

OK, I was kind of gagging that I had to read this. I mean, haven't I read enough pioneer tales for one life already? How many more sugar coated tales of surviving death by praying could I take?...and then I read this. For what it was, it...

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confessions of a former miss-know-it-all

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

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Good Reads