The Basketball Diaries

Wow. This is not a book for the squeamish. I had seen the movie quite a few years back and I really liked it, it has very hard subjects but I think Leonardo DiCaprio did a wonderful job and he really made the movie.

The book was very much like the movie, but with worse "scenes" and things I won't be able to get out of my head for quite a while.

It's about a teenage boy growing up on the streets of NYC back in the 60's. Where were his parents is all I have to say? The things he experienced makes me shudder.

Rating: 3.5/5

Ned Kelly

Finished this up last night, it was pretty good, not as good as I was hoping. It's a fictional account of what Ned Kelly may have been thinking in his last days. I always have felt sympathy for his story and this book just made me feel it more. I put a book on hold at the library, I think it's called The Real Story of the Kelly Gang, or something along those lines.

This book goes back and forth into the past and present and sometimes it's hard to know what is going on, where he is and who he's talking to. It could have been much better.

Rating: 2.5/5

Reading the Author Challenge

I've chosen Pearl S. Buck for my author and plan on reading the following books:
Sons
My Several Worlds
Imperial Women

Problem with blogger

Well there seems to be a long term problem with adding pictures to my sidebar. I finally was able to register a user name and leave a message in the help group area.
I've been trying to weeks to add pics to my sidebar and they are stretched and distored. Anyone else having this problem?
I'm leaving one up in hopes the problem will get fixed.

Last Non-Fiction Five book completed- Yee haw!

What a good book! I wasn't sure if I'd like it not being a serious dog fan or anything. It was so funny at times I was laughing aloud. Poor Marley is a large lab with a mental problem...or so it seems. His antics were enough for any normal dog owner to get rid of him. A heartwarming funny story that will probably make a few tears come to your eyes.

Rating: 4/5

Booking Through Thursday- Are You a Goldilocks Reader?

Are you a Goldilocks kind of reader?

Do you need the light just right, the background noise just so loud but not too loud, the chair just right, the distractions at a minimum?

Or can you open a book at any time and dip right in, whether it’s for twenty seconds, while waiting for the kettle to boil, or indefinitely, like while waiting interminably at the hospital–as long as the book is open in front of your nose, you’re happy to read?

~Weeeelll, kinda I am. If the TV is on or people are talking I can be distracted. It depends on my mood and the book. There are some books that I can tune things out and just read, but for the most part I do need to be comfortable (laying down either in bed or on the couch) with a good pillow...maybe a blanket and silence, or near silence.

I do read in waiting rooms and at the pool and beach but I can't concentrate as well.

Another Non-Fiction Five done!

I finished this last night, I just may finish this challenge yet! This book was really good, very interesting and the author was funny. It basically takes you through some of the different themes in books and how to look for clues and symbols to figure out what the author is really saying in a story. I don't know how much it will help me, but I think I'll notice more when I read now.

Books Read in August

It was a short reading month for me, but GWTW took a lot of my time.


The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell