books read in 2007

Just cataloguing the books I read in 2007 to make room for new books in 2008:

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Marcy gave me this book for Christmas, and I just tore through it - it is an incredible memoir from a woman who had a loving and incredibly dysfunctional childhood.

The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory
I'm just addicted to this series that follows the women in King Henry the VIII's life - I've also read The Other Boleyn Girl, The Queen's Fool, and The Virgin's Lover.

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Another steal from Mom's book club, this book is set in Nigeria during the Biafran War. The author is an incredible storyteller, chronicling love, friendships, family drama, and the impact of war. Great characters, too.

The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
I have taken to stealing Mom's book club books before she has to read them, and they've been across-the-board really good. This is another great novel from a poetic Indian writer - highly recommended!!

Old School by Tobias Wolff
This book chronicles the story of a boy attending a US prep school in the 1940s who wants to be a writer. The story is a bit slower, but still engaging and beautifully written.

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
Bill and Sally were kind enough to let me steal this book from them at Lake George, and I really loved it. Ms. Roy is an incredibly poetic writer.

A Thousand Spendid Sons by Khaled Hosseini
The next book by the author of The Kite Runner, this was a page turner and a really enjoyable and fast paced story about life in Afghanistan.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
No more to be said - of course you have to read this.

Dancing at the Rascal Fair by Ivan Doig
This is a quite old book about homestead life in Montana at the turn of the century. This was a great read during our Montana trip this summer, and I really got pulled into picturing life and the landscape 100 years ago.

The Ministry of Special Cases by Nathan Englander
I had higher hopes for this widely acclaimed book, but it just never pulled me in. I kept reading and reading and waiting and waiting, but it never happened. So, maybe not recommended.

The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig
This is Ivan Doig's newest novel, I think, and I just loved it. The story centers on a one-room school house in Montana at the turn of the century.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
I nearly finished this in one sitting, but I was forced to put it down since I was supposed to be hiking 30 miles around Cape Chignecto in Nova Scotia. The story is incredibly engaging.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
This non-fiction story follows a woman's "search for everything." Mom lent me this and said that this woman's writing style reminded her of mine on my blog. Then I went to amazon.com and found that all the reviewers found her and her writing style obnoxious - great! I loved the book, though, for whatever that's worth.