Books I've been reading

I'm always looking for new books to read. (Or re-read.) I always like to hear what other people have read, so I thought I'd review some of the books I've recently read.

The Crown Rose, by Fiona Avery - This is a book that I randomly picked up at the library because it looked interesting. Turned out to be a very interesting book. It takes place in Paris during the 1200's. It is historical fiction, and deals with a princess who is heir to the French throne. It involves Knights Templar, Mary Magdalene and some holy relics. The whole time I was reading it, I kept thinking, "This book better have a good ending, because I'm too far in it to quit now." Overall, it was pretty clean and had a surprising ending. I give it a 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Year of Wonders, by Geraldine Brooks - This is the book we are reading for book club in November. All I knew about this book before I read it was that it dealt with a village in England that was hit with the plague in 1665. It was a little difficult to read because it hit a little close to home with the swine flu going around, and the auther is a little graphic when she is describing the proccess of death which happened a lot in this book. I liked it overall, and I give it a 3 out of 5 stars.

The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho - This was our book club's book last month. I'd heard about this book before, but had never gotten my hands on it. I'm not sure if I will read it again, but I'm glad I read it once. The story follows a young boy from Spain who is determined to find his "Personal Legend" in life. I liked the themes of the book - sacrafice, striving and working hard and not giving up - but it was a little boring to me at times. I'll give it a 3 out of 5 stars.

New Moon, by Stephanie Meyer - This book falls into the catagory of books that I re-read. Because if books are really good, they just get better each time you read them. This was the second time I read this book, and I think I liked it better this time around. The first time I read it I was kind of skimming over the parts with Bella and Jacob, wondering when Edward was going to come back. (I knew he had to at some point, otherwise what would the third and fourth books in the series be about?) But this time around, I found myself liking Jacob a lot. Not as much as Edward - partly because by this time I knew Bella would end up marrying him - but I realized how much Bella needed Jacob in her life at that point. He is the epitomy of a best friend, to me. Well, aside from the part about him liking her. I digress. I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. Not one of my all-times, but pretty close.

Salem Falls, by Jodi Picoult - This is another re-read book. This was the first Jodi Picoult book I read. The ending shocked me - so much so that I wasn't sure what had happened. I thought about it for a long while and looked up some discussions about it online. After I realized what the ending implied, I read it again a year later. Her books are not for everyone - there is some swearing, (not too much for me, but I know it bothers some) and she deals with some uncomfortable issues, like child abuse, violence in schools, etc. Those things aside, I find her to be an incredible story teller. She pulls you in, and at the end of every book she manages to shock you with the ending. I really enjoyed this book much better the second time around. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

I just started reading The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. I've heard a few of my friends talking about it and it sounded really interesting to me. It is a young adult book about a country in the future that is divided up into 12 districts. It is all controled by a providence called the Capitol. The keep the districts in line - for example, giving them food to live on - by choosing 2 teenagers from each district each year to participate in a game called the Hunger Games. They basically put them out in the wild and have them fight to the death. It is broadcasted on television, so everyone in the country is watching it. (Sound a bit like reality shows these days?) The winner, besides bringing honor and glory to their home district, also gets enough food to feed their family/district for a long time. I'm only one chapter in and it has already captivated me. I'm off to read it right now.

What are some of the books you have been reading?