Snow Flower and the Secret Fanby Lisa See

Published in 2005. 258 pages.


I've had Snow Flower and the Secret Fan on my to-read list for a long time, so I was happy that my sister picked it for our book club back in May.

Lisa See's website has reviews of the book, links to information about foot binding and the secret women's language Nu Shu, and book group discussion questions.

Here are a few of my favorite passages from the book:

For my entire life I longed for love. I knew it was not right for me - as a girl and later as a woman - to want or expect it, but I did, and this unjustified desire has been at the root of every problem I have experienced in my life.

But this is the nature of fate. You make choices that are good and sound, but the gods have other plans for you.

If a man does not value his wife upon marriage, why would he treasure her after? If he sees his wife as no better than a chicken who can provide an endless supply of eggs or a water buffalo who can bear an endless amount of weight upon its shoulders, why would he value her any more than those animals? He might appreciate her even less, since she is not as brave, strong, tolerant, or able to scavenge on her own.

2009.31

The Eternal Smile: Three Stories by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim

Published in 2009. 170 pages.


"A fantastical adventure through the worlds we live in and the worlds we create."

I am a big fan of Gene Luen Yang's American Born Chinese, so I was excited to discover The Eternal Smile at the library.

Last August, Derek Kirk Kim wrote about the project on his blog. When the book was released at the end of April, Gene Luen Yang wrote about it in this blog post.

Of the three stories in the book, I liked "Urgent Request" the best - but "Duncan's Kingdom" and "Gran'pa Greenbax and the Eternal Smile" were great too.

2009.34

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Published in 2007. 353 pages.


I found the writing to be somewhat uneven - which is sometimes the case in a memoir - but the content of Ayaan Hirsi Ali's Infidel is such an important one! That the basic human rights of women and female children can be violated with such little thought and/or in the name of religiosity is tragic, and we all need to be a little more aware of the problem so that we can find a solution.

Here are a few quotes:

Holland's multiculturalism - its respect for Muslims' way of doing things - wasn't working. It was depriving many women and children of their rights. Holland was trying to be tolerant for the sake of consensus, but the consensus was empty. The immigrants' culture was being preserved at the expense of their women and children ... [page 246]

The message of this book, if it must have a message, is that we in the West would be wrong to prolong the pain of that transition unnecessarily, by elevating cultures full of bigotry and hatred tworad women to the stature of respectable alternative ways of life. [page 348]

It is possible to free oneself - to adapt one's faith, to examine it critically, and to think about the degree to which that faith is itself at the root of oppression. [page 350]

2009.36

The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart

Subtitled 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs and Me, Ruby Oliver.
Originally published in 2005.
Audio book read by Mandy Siegfried.


I enjoyed this young adult audio book very much, and I recommended it to both of my teenage daughters. Sugar Plum listened to it, but Jelly Bean got the book version. We also discovered that there is a sequel, The Boy Book, which I picked up from the library tonight and am taking with me to Florida tomorrow. (The girls will just have to wait to read it until I get back!) A third book will be published later this year.

E. Lockhart's blog is here.

2009.38

Spring Reading Thing - Wrapping It Up

March 20 - June 20
Hosted by Katrina at Callapiddar Days
Of the twenty-six books on my original too-long, subject-to-revision list for Spring Reading Thing 2009, I read fourteen. I also added I, Coriander to my list, as it was the April pick for my book club, Savvy, a 2009 Newbery Honor book, and John Grisham's latest The Associate. So that's seventeen books completed for this challenge:

• Adrift by Steven Callahan


• The Associate by John Grisham


• Bones by Jonathan Kellerman


• Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson


• Cross Country by James Patterson


• Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult


• Hot Lunch by Alex Bradley


• I, Coriander by Sally Gardner


• The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith


• Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer


• Lucky by Alice Sebold


• Pigboy by Vicki Grant


• Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale, Dean Hale, and Nathan Hale


• Savvy by Ingrid Law


• The Ten-Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer


• Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress by Tina Ferraro


• Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

I haven't yet reviewed some of these books, but I've linked the ones that I have. I ended up with a good variety of genres, and there isn't a book here that I didn't enjoy. It's very difficult to pick one favorite, but among the top picks were Wintergirls, Rapunzel's Revenge, and I, Coriander. Bridge to Terabithia was a re-read from my childhood - and I loved revisiting it. I'm looking forward to Fall into Reading 2009. (I'm sure that it'll be here quicker than I think!)

In the Company of Cheerful Ladiesby Alexander McCall Smith

Originally published in 2004.
Audio book read by Lisette Lecat.


This sixth installment in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series is my least favorite so far. While some significant overall plot developments occur, I found the novel itself to be quite uneven. At times I was riveted but at other times I was bored. Perhaps I need a break from this series for a little while. But I know I'll get back to it eventually.

2009.35

Bones by Jonathan Kellerman

Published in 2008. 353 pages.


I think it says a lot that I found this twenty-third installment in the Alex Delaware series to be just as enjoyable as I did the first!

2009.33

I Finished It!

Book Awards Reading Challenge II


Ten months. Ten books.
Seven different awards (the requirement was at least five).

Much thanks to Host 3M!

• An Abundance of Katherines (Printz)


• The Book Thief (Printz)


• Bridge to Terabithia (Newbery)


• The Eyre Affair (Alex)


• The Full Cupboard of Life (Saga)


• The House of the Scorpion
  (National Book Award, Newbery, and Printz)


• Rapunzel's Revenge (Cybil)


• Savvy (Newbery)


• Water for Elephants (Alex)


• The Zookeeper's Wife (Orion)