Books I read in 2006!

This is a list of the books I read in 2006, with a few of my thoughts on each.

Go here for 2005's list! Go here for 2007's list!

11/28/06 Caroline B. Cooney
The Voice on the Radio
The author did a good job (again) being realistic about people's reactions to difficult situations. It's nice to show that people aren't just hateful or nice, and that they have the possibility of making mistakes and feeling conflicting emotions about them.
11/13/06 Caroline B. Cooney
Whatever Happened to Janie?
So, Jeaux wants me to read the whole series, and they're short books so I don't mind. I liked this book better than the first one because it rarely stopped its own action to talk to you about surroundings--I only found one paragraph where it did that. Otherwise, it was mostly about realistic emotional reactions to a sad situation. I liked how everyone had his or her own way of dealing with what was going on, and how they changed their minds and reacted to their emotions like real people do.
11/9/06 Sam Harris
Letter to a Christian Nation
A follow-up to his last book, The End of Faith, which I read last month. This short book's purpose is to answer and address some of the most common arguments Christians have made against some of his assertions in the first book he wrote. This book has simpler language and its length is not off-putting, so perhaps more people of faith who NEED to read this book in order to understand both others' perceptions of them AND their own reasons for faith might not be scared away by getting a long lecture. It's a very important and bold book and I am very proud of this man for having the balls to say this crap.
10/19/06 Sam Harris
The End of Faith
I know I'm not that kind of a girl, but I want to have Sam Harris's baby. His very blunt, interesting, specific, and CORRECT discussions of the dangers of religious faith are deserving of some kind of award. I'm sure he's already won several. He really makes a great case for logic and skepticism while still allowing for the validity and importance of "spiritual" experiences, and points out all kinds of misconceptions and stupidities of the faithful. I agree with him when he says it's time for us to stop letting religious faith be the only aspect of human experience that is taboo to judge. He restates a lot of stuff I've been saying for years and brings to the table a few arguments I hadn't thought of but happily agree with. Um . . . can I vote Harris for President? Oh wait, according to polls, people would be more likely to elect a homosexual than an atheist, because obviously what someone believes about God and the afterlife has a lot to do with how well that person will govern. . . .
10/18/06 Lemony Snicket
The End
The last volume in A Series of Unfortunate Events was more of the same silly narration and morose mystery. Lots of shocking things happen and a few questions that had been rankling for the whole series were answered, but a lot more questions were either unanswered or raised at the end. And it is really nice to know that at least Count Olaf cannot possibly be coming back in disguise.
9/25/06 Eoin Colfer
Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony
As with all the other Artemis books, I loved it, and liked decoding the coded message on the bottom. There were a few added elements--the child genius/ex-villain Artemis is now going through puberty, for instance, plus we get to meet demons for the first time--and the old favorites are still up to their old tricks. I was happy to see Holly, Mulch, Butler, Foaly, and all the fun fairy goodness again.
9/20/06 Caroline B. Cooney
The Face on the Milk Carton
Jeaux made me read it. I liked and disliked it equally. The story was pretty good and the angst of the character over her predicament was well-written and emotional. What WASN'T well-written was some of the one-dimensional other characters, and the fact that all these unimportant details that help describe people and settings seemed so forced. I mean, Janie gets up and she's in a nightgown and suddenly we get this history lesson on how Janie adores sleepwear. Or like on the pretense of discussing the liking of unusual names--which Janie doesn't have--we get tidbits about her friends who have them, and it goes on too long and seems so staged. C'mon, if they don't fall into the text at a natural point, then leave them out.
9/6/06 Lemony Snicket
The Beatrice Letters
Had to grab, buy, and devour the latest installment of the Series of Unfortunate Events . . . though of course it's not one of the series proper, just a book of supplemental stuff. Drove myself goofy trying to solve all the mysteries and then just decided to scream and kick myself repeatedly in the head.
8/20/06 Lauren Weisberger
The Devil Wears Prada
After seeing the trailer for this movie and finding out it was about a girl dealing with her EVIL BOSS, I determined it was something I needed to read. I was right. Though I guess I was hoping for too much when I wished the ending would involve the main character pushing her boss down the stairs. . . . It's been a while since I disliked someone in a book as much as Harry Potter's Dolores Umbridge. . . .
8/18/06 Dav Pilkey
Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People
I have to say that while on the front it advertises "Evil," "Horror," and "Laffs," the only actual "horror" I saw was the description of two people in their eighties sloppily kissing each other. Weirdly, one of the other books advertises "Romance! Just kidding!" on the cover, yet this one mentions nothing and it does sort of have romance! Besides that, the hypnotized evil bionic hamster, the description of how adults are bonkers, and the pretend violence that you animate yourself by flipping the page back and forth is the usual Pilkey classic humor. And the title of an upcoming book really, really amused me: Frankenfart vs. the Bionic Barf Bunnies from Diarrhea Land by Evil Dav Pilkey. Hmmm.
7/25/06 William Sleator
Parasite Pig
I read the prequel of this, Interstellar Pig, when I was a li'l one, and it was one of my favorites from this author. Naturally I was surprised when, about fifteen years later, I discovered that the book had acquired a sequel. I bought it instantly and read it sometime later. It was just as good, and less predictable.
7/10/06 Usamaru Furuya
Short Cuts, Vol. 2
Jeaux gave me a copy of this sketch-comedy manga . . . it's different from other Japanese comics because it doesn't have an overarching story, it's more like individual skits, and it was quite hilarious. There's a lot of jokes about sex in these comics, like one about a new computer that is shaped like a robot, and its "turn-on" switch looks suspiciously like a penis . . . and when a girl has trouble turning hers on but the (male) teacher manages fine, it is discovered that her computer is gay. Haha.
6/22/06 George R.R. Martin
Wild Cards
This is a book of short stories set in one universe but written by different people. It's cool 'cause the basic idea is that the "wild card virus" got introduced to humanity from some aliens and it affected each person a different way. A lot of them died, a lot of them were transformed, and mostly the transformations were very bad--the ones who lived but were disfigured were "Jokers," and the select few who got some kind of beneficial transformation were called "Aces." This book had stories about both kinds of people, as well as about Dr. Tachyon, one of the aliens who helped develop the virus (but was against introducing it to humanity--obviously, he lost). I for the most part enjoyed the variation and the imaginativeness of both the universe and the stories themselves. I would read more "wild card" stories.
6/20/06 Paula Danziger
The Cat Ate My Gymsuit
I didn't like it. The book was about all the right things, but I really don't like her writing style. It sort of came off mechanical. I never felt like I was there, ALWAYS felt like I was reading. I think she's one of those authors who tries too hard to make sure kids can understand her stuff. And when I was a kid I always hated when adults tried to dumb things down for me when I'd rather go "up" to their level . . . and furthermore, often DID so.
6/18/06 Julie Anne Peters
Between Mom and Jo
Nick's story of having two moms and their family dynamic was very realistic in my opinion. I think it's great how Ms. Peters does such a great job not having saccharine stories or predictable endings but still makes you satisfied with her books, and how people do things that don't make sense just like in real life.
6/12/06 Louise Rennison
Startled By His Furry Shorts
The rude English schoolgirl, Georgia, is up to her old tricks with fake eyelashes, flirting rules, and multiple displays of sulking over boys. I don't think she's made much progress in this book. She's still on the Rack of Luuuurve.
5/31/06 Darren Shan
Cirque du Freak #11: The Lord of the Shadows
Uh-oh, now it's getting messy--more important people are dying, more big revelations (though not THAT big if you're paying attention), and a surprising peek into the dark side of Darren Shan.
5/22/06 Arthur Golden
Memoirs of a Geisha
Having seen the movie, I wanted to read the book, and I have to say I wish I'd read the book first. I enjoyed it, and I think I would have enjoyed it more if the book's events had been a surprise to me. It was well-written.
5/13/06 Neil Gaiman
I thought all along that the book would end like it did, but it was getting there that was fun. It seemed like a pretty classic quest motif/almost-fairy-tale, but with some darkness and quirks that you only see in the most imaginative tales. Most enjoyable!
4/17/06 Eoin Colfer
Half-Moon Investigations
Colfer's latest isn't something I liked as much as the Artemis Fowl series, but I liked that even though it was a mystery (a genre I'm not into), I enjoyed it and was curious about the outcome all the way up to the end. And I liked how Fletcher Moon was honestly quite a good detective but sometimes even he did not have a foolproof plan.
3/29/06 R.A. Salvatore
The Dark Elf Trilogy's last book. The ever-brave Drizzt ventures forth into the surface world in search of a place where a drow with principles can belong. Awww. And he makes some friends, awww. And some enemies, duhhh. I liked how this one dealt with prejudice and inner strength, and I'm glad he finally seems to have escaped his evil family and their ways. Yay for Bob Salvatore!
4/2/06 Julie Anne Peters
Far from Xanadu
I didn't relate to this very well, being that I've never had a crush on someone who didn't feel the same way, but the sad story of a reluctant lesbian with a crush on a straight girl was thought-provoking and inspiring as well. I thought Mike was a cool main character. :)
3/29/06 R.A. Salvatore
The Dark Elf Trilogy's second book. It was just as surprisingly engaging as the first, though I predicted a plot point way ahead of time (and NOT just because I already knew there was a book 3!). It was amazing to me how much crap went down in this book because of ONE person. And seeing Drizzt form friendships with those of other races because his own race doesn't suit him is heartwarming. ::smile::
3/19/06 R.A. Salvatore
The Dark Elf Trilogy is a favorite of one of my best friends, so I figured I ought to give its first book a try. I was not disappointed, though that whole Forgotten Realms D&D-type fantasy was never my favorite style. Despite that, I found the main character Drizzt rather irresistible . . . yup.
2/15/06 Andrew Clements
Things Not Seen
I wouldn't have expected a children's book about a kid who turns invisible to be so realistic. Assuming the thing that happened to this kid could happen, it was otherwise an entirely realistic book, like, the people acted right and everything as far as could be expected. Well-written and surprising, and I liked the main character's relationship with his new friend.
2/6/06 Julie Anne Peters
Define "Normal"
I liked the writing on this one but the storyline on it wasn't as good as the other two I read before it. Also I saw that plot twist coming, but oh well. Still excellent reading. :D
1/28/06 Louis Sachar
Small Steps
The follow-up to Holes (featuring Holes characters Armpit and X-Ray) was pretty awesome. I have loved how this man writes since fifth grade and he shows no signs of letting me down now. Great story. A little more "mature" than most of his others though.
1/17/06 Gregory Maguire
Son of a Witch
The sequel to Wicked was quite good. Recommended for those who have read the first one (not those who haven't), and actually his storytelling was much . . . smoother than usual in this one. Like he was trying harder to keep an audience's attention with smooth storytelling instead of his usual literary rumbling (but I like both ways). Rumble on Maguire!
1/16/06 Julie Anne Peters
Keeping You a Secret
This was the second book of this author's I've read, and was again NOT disappointed! Her characters were beautifully real and complex and believable, and I LOVED the fact that she tackled a difficult subject like teenagers dealing with their alternative sexualities--in this case it was a girl finding out she's a lesbian and coming to terms with it. Wonderfully and powerfully written, so emotionally REAL--any teen, gay, straight, or bi should read this, and perhaps a lot of adults wouldn't have the patience for the "who am I?" routine but some will still relate to it. Highly recommended!


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