The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

I loved this book. Anyone who knows C.S. Lewis knows that he is very religious. The author lets his christian beliefs be shown in every book I've read of his. This book is one of the most religious. It threw me quite often because it is written from the viewpoint of a demon and so what is good in real life, the demon hates. It is written also in the form of a series of letters, which makes the title make sense, but that means it isn't a regular narrative.
For those that never think about right or wrong or the impact of the things they do, I highly recommend it because it is time you start thinking about it. For those that have morals and/or enjoy philosophical thinking you will enjoy the book more. Sometimes it was just a little too dry for me in the "too much thinking, not enough action" way, but I am not the most philosophical thinker. I read it in between reading another book with more action and so was able to give myself a few breaks of more mindless enjoyment. This way of reading I recommend if you also have trouble being philosophical for too long.

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

A depressing book. But a great one. As an worldwide disaster event happens we focus on one family. It's good see their triumphs and setbacks because their story is the same as any other small town survivor. I really got into this book and had to finish it before I went to sleep. The first 17 pages were almost boring, but they are so that when the terrible happens the reader can see just how much of a change this is. I liked the girl the story is told through, Miranda. She doesn't handle it well. Not really. Which is what many people would do. She's a very normal self-absorbed teen, who learns what she needs to do. By the end she is the one who saves them all.

What I didn't like was that it really was sad, but as an apocalypse-type book it was rather hopeful. It left you feeling good, or at least a bit relieved even if uncertain. The catastrophe occurs because the moon is too close to the earth, which means that the moon is kinda the bad guy in all this. That made me sad because I love the moon and would feel almost betrayed if this happened in real life.

There is a companion book to this called The Dead and the Gone, which is the same catastrophe but told by a teenage boy in New York City. I think his story is even more serious and not as hopeful so I like Life As We Knew It better. There are many parts to these stories and although I enjoyed Miranda's little romance it obviously couldn't go on very long. How religious faith was protrayed in the two novels was very different and poignant. At times like these (in my opinion, all times) a person needs their faith in God to sustain them but they also need to work and fight to live. As shown in these books, it can be a delicate balance.

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

It is time I get around to write about this book. The Luxe is a very popular book among young girls right now. Since I've seen it everywhere, I thought I would pick it up. I was not all that impressed. Elizabeth Holland is kind of the main character but she is joined by a host of characters also telling it from their view. Her younger sister Diana, her fake best friend Penelope, her fiancee, her maid and I can't remember who else all get a chance for a section in their first person. It's very important that we get the story from so many angles, because there are so many secrets, lies and skeletons in the closet that from one angle we would be lost.
My thought for why I did not get so into this book is that I didn't like any character. All were completely selfish and immoral. Perhaps Diana may have been the one I liked if it hadn't been that in the first scene we see her lure a stranger into the cloakroom to make out with. She definitely had the cutest romance of the book. Everyone in the book was in love with someone they shouldn't be.
Set in New York society scenes from the turn of the century, it got my attention for its historical view. I had the thought that it was the turn of the century, why were people still like this, in America even? I'm sure there are still dozens of parties now where I can find much the same assortment of proud, fashion-enslaved, snobbish, continually masquerading, ambitious, back-stabbing, rich show-offs as were in this book.
What I did like about the book, was the end. Not for the reason that it ended but because there was no better way to end the book in my view. A few realizations and a sudden decision to make the most amount of people happy. I may get around to reading the sequel.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

I am trying to get a bit wider in my book choice, so I reread this classic by a very controversial author from the 1800's. I do not enjoy this book very much, it seems to ramble to me. Definitely Lord Henry rambles, he is the poisonous character of the book. The word poisonous I like a lot for this work. I thought it in my own head and then read the Introduction by Jeffrey Eugenides that is in my copy, and his last two sentences were, "The Picture of Dorian Gray remains a poisonous book, for the old as well as the young, if for different reasons. This warning serves also as a recommendation." Completely agree!
My morals and principles are a big part in my life, and through most of the book morality and most every other thing that I hold respect for are either dismissed as false or taunted at. I'm sorry for spoiling this for anyone, but I must do a summary of the book to go further. Dorian Gray is a spectacularly handsome young man who had his portrait taken by a friend while listening to Lord Henry talk. (When Lord Henry talks, he speaks poison, his ideas are alluring and corruptive. It is he that supplies the poison of the book. He doesn't even believe what he says, he just says what is shocking. I thoroughly dislike him, although he can be amusing.) After the portrait is finished Dorian passionately wishes that the portrait will change with the years and sins and not his own body. And so, through the years of this book, Dorian throws himself into the worst that people do. He lives the high life of seductions, opium and parties, while keeping keeping his innocent and youthful face.
It is a thinking book, which I don't usually appreciate enough, but it is these books that make us better people. What would I do if I were in his situation? Would I become completely self-obsessed if friends flatter me and my ugly secrets are all concealed? There were many times that Dorian was asked and begged to turn his life around and start doing good, and at these times he would form a resolution to do so- for a day, a few hours, only until new information came. His passion was for anything he thought worth it and changed swiftly. There were pages dedicated to his new loves of jewels and tapestries.
Oscar Wilde says about the three main characters, "Basil Hayward (the artist) is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be- in other ages, perhaps." It is good to challenge yourself and your mind while reading this book. I just wonder if everyone is up to the challenge of reading it and not being infected.

Hush by Donna Jo Napoli

It was a new type of story for me. I prefer the fun adventures and then a happy ending. This is a reason to cry every few pages, although I did not...much. The plot is rather easy to sum up; an Irish princess is kidnapped and put into slavery. Such things happened all the time, but the little twist of this is that the girl stays silent all throughout her slavery and is thought to be an enchantress. This is based on a true story, one from 900 AD. Melkorka is her name but it is hardly said because most of the people in the book don't know that is her name.
I loved this book. It drew me into the story so much that I would go away and feel the need to keep silent myself. The beginning of the book has such a different girl than the one at the end, which is right but is also painful. It made me think about human nature and how different we can be and how the differences happened. As a historical fiction book, it drew me into a time that we don't know all too much about. I like history but I couldn't think of what was going on in 900 AD other than it being the Dark Ages.
Some of the things the people in the story did made me wonder what they were thinking; some of it was explained as wisdom but I'm afraid that the rest was pulling at straws in desperation. Honestly I haven't been to the point of desperation so I have nothing to judge their actions against. All of the slaves she knows well really teach me how to do any kind of good a person is capable of, even if they aren't allowed to do anything at all. A great book for anyone to read and learn from.

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

This was a fun book, it makes me eager to read the rest of the series. Although many of the main characters are fairies and such creatures, this is not a fairytale. Now a highly advanced, underground civilization they are bound by their own laws. It's a fun twist to see these magical beings worry about how they have to use an older model of machine.
The fairies and motley company were interesting, my attention went most (as it should) to Artemis. He is a complicated hero because the entire book he is in it only for the gain of himself and his family. But it was obvious a few pages into him that he is not an evil kid. Not completely. The fact that he is a genius makes him respectable even if he's only twelve. Then the fact that his family has been theives and him being so young gives me great hope for his rehabilitation.
In greek mythology Artemis is a girl's name, so I had to keep reminding myself that this Artemis is a boy. Dwarves are traditionally small human size, but fairies are either the size of flowers or the size of humans. In this book they are about three feet, I also had to keep reminding myself about that.
A great book even for techies I think, except that there was no romance, not yet anyway.

The Reluctant Heiress by Eva Ibbotson

Three other books have I read from this author so I'm familiar with the way she writes. The books are all romances, with large obstacles to wedded bliss such as social barriers, prior engagements or wars. I love these books because of the way she tells not only the story of the boy and girl but also nearly everyone around them. Also, it is a romance and even though it does have allusions to sex, the books are not in the least pornographic. I recommend these books to any young adult and up.
To be more focused on this book now, I enjoyed it greatly and stayed up until 1:30 to finish it. I found the two main characters likeable but the three I loved were the three women who had had guardianship of Guy and Tessa. The story had me a bit confused because I don't understand a slavish devotion to opera, so I could not understand some of their motives. To cut off your hair for free to make a wig for an actress to wear goes over my head.
As a love story, it had the all-important meeting and final coming together of the couple, but it seemed to me that the middle had some parts missing. Their attraction and love came a bit sudden. I enjoyed his anger and contained violence. When his violence was first mentioned, it scared me, but then it was pointed out that he only used it for protecting the weak. Or protecting his foster mother. A bit like a superhero would.
The story was fun with its twists and plots as well as quite a few misunderstandings and secret love. One has to laugh at the picture created by the fiancee shrieking because they were taking away her mirrors.