Not Without My Daughter

Last night I finished Not Without My Daughter by Betty Mahmoody with William Hoffer. My Mom recommended it to me and she was right. It was a very moving story. It is about Betty, a Michigan housewife, who goes on vacation to Iran with her daughter and Iranian husband in 1984. The two week vacation turns into a nightmare. He holds her captive and refused to let her go home. Since she is married to an Iranian, Iran considers her a Iranian citizen and the embassy can do nothing for her unless she leaves her daughter behind. I won't give away too much of the story, but if you can handle reading the horrors she dealt with I highly recommend this. I am rating it 5/5 stars.

The Constant Princess

I finished reading The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory. I loved my little escape back to Tudor history. I always wondered what the story was with King Henry's first wife and now I've got one. It wasn't nearly as scandalous as Philippa Gregory's other books but it was still interesting. I hope she writes more soon!

I'm rating this on a 5 out of 5 starts!

This is the first book I finished in my 2009 TBR Challenge.

The Titan's Curse

I actually finished The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan a week ago but didn't get a chance to blog about it until now. It is the third book in the children's series Percy Jackson and the Olympian. While it picks up where the previous 2 books left off, I didn't find that it moved at the same pace as the others. I still recommend it if you want to follow the story through to the end.

Scenes From a Holiday

This was my one and only holiday read this season. I didn't even start it until after Christmas. The three short stories were entertaining and easy to read.

The Eight Dates of Hanukkah by Laurie Graff
I found this one to be the most unusual. While in a coma, Nicki is in a world where every night is Hanukkah and she must datea different man.

Carrie Pilby's New Year's Resolution by Caren Lissner
This one was fun. As the bookworm I can almost relate, but not really. Carrie a former child prodigy is 20 and has already graduated from college. Her new year's resolution is become more "normal" by everyone else's standards. She plans to date and attend social gatherings.

Emma Townsend Saves Christmas by Melanie Murray
What a crazy family! Emma, the fancy New York lawyer comes home every Christmas to her parent's tree farm and to work at the town's annual Christmas faire!

I'll rate this one 4/5.

The Boleyn Inheritance

I finished reading The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory this afternoon. I loved it! I remember someone telling me this wasn't as good as other (I can't remember who), but I disagree! The story was told from three perspectives, Anne of Cleves, Jane Boleyn, and Katherine Howard. I recommend it to anyone with the slightest interest in historical fiction!

2009 TBR Challenge

I've never particpate in a reading challenge before but I figure this will help me read some of the books that have been sitting on my shelf for a while.

You can find the challenge instructions here, TBR Challenge.

My list of 12 is:
1. The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory - finished 5/5 stars
2. Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
3. The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold
4. A Catch of Consequence by Diana Norman
5. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
6. The Rising Jerry B Jenkins
7. The Masque of the Black Tulip by Lauren Willig
8. Remember Me by Sophie Kinsella
9. Rosie Dunne by Cecilia Ahern
10. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
11. Miss Match by Erynn Mangum
12. The Witness by Dee Henderson

Alternate List:
1. Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot
2. Sammy's Hill by Kristin Gore
3. Water for Elephents by Sara Gruen
4. Tabloid Love: Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places by Bridget Harrison
5. Staggerford by Jon Hassler
6. Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
7. Pride, Prejudice, and Jasmin Field by Melissa Nathan
8. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
9. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
10. Atonement by Ian McEwan
11. Hardscape by Justin Scott
12. Light from Heaven by Jan Karon

The Baby Chronicles

I just finished reading The Baby Chronicles by Judy Baer. I thought it was a cute book! It was refreshing to read chick lit and not be thinking the main character is crazy the whole time. Minus the baby part, I could almost relate to Whitney. I won't give anything away, but I'm a little jealous of how it ended. :)