Spring Reading Thing Challenge 2009

It's time once again for the Spring Reading Thing Challenge! This challenge runs from March 20 - June 20, 2009.




My books:

Robin McKinley. Spindle's End -- finished 4/11/2009
Anne McCaffrey and Margaret Ball. Acorna: The Unicorn Girl -- finished 5/9/2009
Ann Rule. The Stranger Beside Me - finished 5/10/2009
Eoin Colfer. Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident -- finished 6/5/2009
Jack Olsen. The Climb Up to Hell
Bill Bryson. A Short History of Nearly Everything

The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule

First sentence:

"No one glanced at the young man who walked out of the Trailways Bus Station in Tallahassee, Florida at dawn on Sunday, January 8, 1978."

Description:

"Ted Bundy was everyone's picture of a natural "winner" -- handsome, charming, brilliant in law school, successful with women, on the verge of a dazzling career. On January 24, 1989, Ted Bundy was executed for the murders of three young women; he had also confessed to taking the lives of at least thirty-five more young women from coast to coast. This is his story written by a woman who thought she knew Ted Bundy -- until she began to pull all the evidence together, and the whole terrifying picture emerged from the dark depths." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was a good true crime book in which Rule not only wrote about the life and crimes of Ted Bundy, but also wrote about how she was fooled by him for many years.

Date read: 5/10/2009
Book #: 29
Challenges: 999 Challenge, Dewey Decimal Challenge, Spring Reading Thing Challenge 2009
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Nonfiction

ISBN-10: 0451164938
ISBN-13: 9780451164933
Publisher: Signet
Year: 1989
# of Pages: 489
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing Page

Acorna: The Unicorn Girl by Anne McCaffrey and Margaret Ball

First sentence:

"The space/time coordinate system they used has no relationship to Earth, our sun, the Milky Way, or any other point of reference we could use to find our way around, and in any coordinate system we use, they're so far off the edge of the chart that nobody has ever contemplated going there, even with the proton drive."

Description:

"She was just a little girl, with a tiny horn in the center of her forehead, funny-looking feet, beautiful silver hair, and several curious powers: the ability to purify air and water, make plants grow, and heal scars and broken bones. A trio of grizzled prospectors found her drifting in an escape pod amid the asteroids, adopted her, and took her to the bandit planet Kezdet, a place where no questions are asked and a girl might grow up free.

But Kezdet has its own dark secret. The prosperity of the planet is based on a hideous trade in child slave labor, administered by "The Piper" -- a mystery man with special plans for Acorna and her powers. But free little girls have a way of growing into freedom-loving women, and Acorna has special plans all her own...." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was a good book introducing me to the character Acorna. I liked how Calum, Gill and Rafik learned about her powers and how Acorna and her friends made a difference on Kezdet. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, Acorna's Quest.

Date read: 5/6/2009
Book #: 28
Series: Acorna, #1
Challenge: 999 Challenge, Celebrate the Author Challenge, Spring Reading Thing Challenge 2009
Genre: SF
Rating: 3*/5 = good

ISBN-10: 0061057894
ISBN-13: 9780061057892
Publisher: HarperPrism
Year: 1997
# of Pages: 400
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing Page

Spindle's End by Robin McKinley

First sentence:

"The magic in that country was so thick and tenacious that it settled over the land like chalk-dust and over floors and shelves like slightly sticky plaster-dust."

Description:

"All the creatures of forest and field and riverbank knew the infant was special. She was the princess, spirited away from the evil fairy Pernicia on her name-day. But the curse was cast: Rosie was fated to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a poisoned sleep -- a slumber from which no one would be able to rouse her. . . ."

My thoughts:

Robin McKinley does a wonderful job portraying the Sleeping Beauty/Briar Rose fairy tale in a fresh light. By delving into the people's attempt to thwart the evil fairy Pernicia, she expands the story so that when I got to the inevitable confrontation, I was rooting for Rosie and her friends, both human and animal.

Date read: 4/11/2009
Book #: 25
Challenge: 999 Challenge, Spring Reading Thing Challenge 2009
Rating: 4*/5 = great
Genre: Fantasy

ISBN-10: 0441008658
ISBN-13: 9780441008650
Publisher: Ace
Year: 2000
# of Pages: 354
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing Page