I have to find something to occupy my time between movies, I guess.

It’s a list of books that I need to read (and, in some cases, books that are good enough to re-read).

Books I’ve read since summer 2005:

Picoult, Jodi. The Tenth Circle. This showed how the many different angles of a case of date rape can weave together, and how a whole family is affected by one incident. I couldn’t wait to read what happened next. Picoult also included a graphic novel between the chapters, which made the book something extraordinary.

Sparks, Nicholas. Dear John. Another great Sparks book. They’re all great love stories, but they have so much else going on. This was very enjoyable to read.

Sparks, Nicholas. A Bend in the Road. Mr. Sparks, you have done it again. You have created a book that left me wanting to read more. I loved the romance, the suspense, the way the pieces fit together. Nicely done.

Dunn, Jancee. But Enough About Me. Yay–a book about a journalist and her personal life. I really liked this. It gave some interesting insight on the journalism field (especially celebrity journalism), and was a fun read.

Albom, Mitch. The Five People You Meet in Heaven. This was beautiful–like a work of art. The language was uplifting, and it’s one of those books that makes you think about life and what comes after it.

Sparks, Nicholas. The Guardian. At the beginning of the summer, I told my “librarian” friend Shari that I wanted to read a good book that had romance, mystery and murder, the kind of book I could not put down. This book was exactly that. I was hesitant to read a Nicholas Sparks book at first–come on, The Notebook was rather cheesy. But it was totally worth it, and I really enjoyed it.

Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Another WOW. I read this one in about 24 hours. This was funny and entertaining, and almost every line from the book could stand on its own as a life lesson or just a funny quote.

Shreve, Anita. The Pilot’s Wife. SUCH a great book. I was on the edge of my seat, and I could not put it down. Thrilling, exciting, heartwarming. Read this one, people.

Quindlen, Anna. One True Thing. The first half of this book was sweet and touching, but the second half of the book was riveting. Very well done, and it makes you reexamine your own relationships.

Braff, Joshua. The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green. An interesting look on a semi-familiar topic of teenage Jews. It was funny, it was sad, it was very entertaining. A good read.

Diamant, Anita. The Red Tent. This was a really interesting Midrash on a story I didn’t know a lot about before. Though I could have done without the last third of the book, I enjoyed reading the story from Dinah’s voice, and I feel like I got to know the characters in a way I normally wouldn’t have.

Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities (a re-read). When I first read this book for English class sophomore year, it was the worst of times. I hated it. Then, everything came together at the end of the book. “Wow, this is the best book I’ve ever read!” I said. I’ve wanted to re-read it ever since, and I finally got the chance to now. I understood everything better this time, and picked up on things I didn’t see the first time. This book’s got everything–romance, history, action, murder, suspense. And yes, I even became slightly teary-eyed at the end. Just as often as I thought to myself how much I hated the book sophomore year as I was reading it, I thought about how much I loved it this time. Everyone should read this book (maybe even more than once). Reading this book was “a far far better thing that I [did], than I have ever done.”

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I usually don’t pick favorites with the Harry Potter series, but this was probably the most enjoyable to read, and I liked it a lot. That is, until the end, when I wanted to use an Imperius Curse on Ms. Rowling to make her write a better ending for the book…but I won’t ruin it, for those of you who haven’t read it yet. In all seriousness, though, she’s a great writer who very cleverly plans out seemingly minor details that turn out to be important later. I loved all the social relationships between the characters, too. Great book.

Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays With Morrie. Everyone had told me that this was the best book ever, and that it would change my life. That’s pretty much true. The book was beautifully written, and the life messages were incredible. Everyone should read this book.

Maguire, Gregory. Wicked. A lot of this book was good, but I could have done without half of it. Some parts of it were extremely slow. It did give an interesting perspective to my beloved The Wizard of Oz. I have been told that the book is very different from the musical (which I am seeing tonight, 7/14/05, by the way), and I’m very excited to see how. I wish this book had taken me one week to read instead of two, though.

Adams, Douglas. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. The sequel to The Hitchhiker’s Guide, it was similarly as entertaining. Funny lines include “[The Time Traveller's Handbook of 1001 Tense Formations] will tell you for instance how to describe something that was about to happen to you in the past before you avoided it by time-jumping forward two days in order to avoid it” and “One’s never alone with a rubber duck.”

Adams, Douglas. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. What a great book! If I had read this book out loud, I would have laughed out loud (but it’s hard to laugh out loud to a book you’re reading silently). This is the kind of book that anyone would enjoy.

Truss, Lynne. Eats, Shoots & Leaves. Fellow grammarians, unite! Finally, a person who appreciates punctuation like I do. Like me, the author refused to see the movie Two Weeks Notice because of its blatant disregard for punctuation. (Do I really need to explain it? There needs to be an apostrophe after “weeks.”) The only annoying part about this book was that the author is British, and in England, they think it’s okay to put punctuation outside quotes and to call a period a “full stop.” Even so, it was a great book to read.

And now, the list of books to read:

Adams, Douglas. Life, the Universe, and Everything
Adams, Douglas. Mostly Harmless
Adams, Douglas. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice
Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility
Berendt, John. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre
Brown, Dan. Angels and Demons
Brown, Dan. The Da Vinci Code
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness
Heller, Joseph. Catch-22
Sedaris, David. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Sedaris, David. Me Talk Pretty One Day
Sedaris, David. Naked
Vonnegut, Kurt. Cat’s Cradle
Vonnegut, Kurt. Sirens of Titan