Finished Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood [8/19/2008]

This time it was Carmen's story that didn't ring true for me. It is hard to imagine her withdrawing herself from her friends and becoming so depressed. I was disappointed Win was left out from the picture. Tibby and Brian's relationship was tragic but not overdone. The scene at Tibby's parents' party seemed very real. I also thought that Lena and Bridget's stories were believable and had good endings.

I wish they were making four movies instead of having the sequel tackle the fourth book. Leaving out what happened in the second and third books will hurt the story a bit.

Finished Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood [8/14/2008]

Three of the four stories in this third book worked for me. Lena growing as an artist and finding mentorship from Annik was believable. Tibby's guilt and depression seemed true. And Carmen's manic behavior seemed real. Bridget and Eric's interactions didn't seem plausible at all to me. Not enough time had passed for them to be friends in my opinion.

The scene where Tibby helps Christina through her pregnancy was powerful and vivid. That was probably the best part of the book for me.

Finished The Second Summer of the Sisterhood [8/06/2008]

In the first book, the bravery of Bridget, Lena, Carmen and Tibby was demonstrated full force. In this second book, their cowardliness is almost unbearable. Their flaws are hard to get through, but, it makes them seem more real as characters.

This book also showed more of the parents as people in their own right. I felt that the mothers especially were given the attention they deserved.

Finished The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants [7/24/2008]

Reading this after having watched the movie meant that I knew what was going to happen. However, it was still enjoyable and quick/easy. I thought Effie was great character and couldn't believe they had completely left her out of the movie.

The strength of this story is not in the predictable and almost soap opera-ish plot, but, in the characters, the richness of their personalities.

playing with google maps [7/08/2008]

I spent perhaps a bit too much time a couple nights ago making this map of my travels. My ultimate plan is to scan all my photographs and have the points link to the galleries. If I actually get around to doing that, this will definitely be worth it.



Here's my current top places I want to visit. Of course, there are other places I'd like to go but I did this one a lot quicker.

my bookmarking obsession exposed [7/02/2008]

Finished The Miracle at Speedy Motors [6/24/2008]

As usual, the latest installment in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series is an easy and enjoyable read. A nice diversion from heavier books, my only complaint is that it was too short.

I'm always impressed by the richness of the descriptions of life in Botswana. The beauty of the land shines off of the pages like a national geographic photograph.

Finished Kafka on the Shore [6/15/2008]

The characters in Kafka on the Shore form an ultimate karass that is clouded in doom. Everyone seems to be living in a dark, stormy otherworld. Only Oshima is able to escape being dragged along by fate and prophecy. Kafka seems to willfully act out his curse. Throughout the whole book, I felt like everyone would die at the end. I was surprised that some characters made it out alive.

I kept looking for a connection that explained why the characters were linked together, especially Kafka and Nakata. In that sense the ending was not satisfying because I'm still wondering.

I wonder if in the future Sakura and Hoshino will meet and fall in love. I think that would be cool. It's strange to have two of the secondary characters being the most lovable (at least for me).

Despite all the blatant and excessive foreshadowing I still enjoyed the story because of the mystery and magical-realism.

Southland Tales [6/06/2008]

My humble analysis:

Finished The Ancestor's Tale [5/26/2008]

Brilliant from start to finish. The Ancestor's Tale impresses upon the reader the full richness of the tree of life. This is truly an epic book covering all the intricacies of evolution in the clearest, simplest terms. Dawkins has written the best explanation I have read anywhere for mitochondrial eve, and I have read quite a few back in my human origins courses. Everyone with an interest in biology should read this.