2012 50 Book Challenge
The Puppy Diaries: Raising a Dog Named Scout
by Jill Abramson My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Really cute! Made me want my very own Golden Retriever! 
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest
by Stieg Larsson My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This series was fascinating because I’m definitely not a thriller or mystery reader, yet was absolutely riveted by these books. Interesting and fun reads. 
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman
by Robert K. Massie My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The historical and cultural parts were fascinating. The political parts got a bit long-winded at times, but it was generally a very interesting biography. 
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
by Jonathan Safran Foer My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Very good, if a bit macabre at times.
The Doctor and the Diva by Adrienne McDonnell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
A good commute book. Felt the opera parts we’re better-written, the fertility/relationship parts were a bit contrived…
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed it, gorgeous storytelling through illustrations.
Pilgrimage by Annie Leibovitz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Interesting to read/admire, loved the authors she visited and the photographs she took of them, especially of Alcott’s Orchard House and Emily Dickinson’s house. The text got a bit tiresome at times, and for some reason it bugged me when the text and photographs were out of sync in many places. But overall an interesting book to read and admire.
Blue Nights by Joan Didion
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Hard to read, yet I’m glad I did. 
Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Finished it in a few hours, found it engrossing but unsatisfying. The author left way too many things unresolved plot-wise, which I guess was sort of the point but it didn’t really work in this case. 
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Really interesting, but kind of depressing…
Show Dog: The Charmed Life and Trying Times of a Near-Perfect Purebred by Josh Dean
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Made me both want a dog and not want to dog show! But interesting and fun to read. 
Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics, 1981-2011, With Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes, and Miscellany by Stephen Sondheim
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Fascinating, if a bit overwhelming at times. I liked the essays interspersed with everything almost as much as his analysis of his lyrics.
2012 50 Book Challenge
The Puppy Diaries: Raising a Dog Named Scout
by Jill Abramson My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Really cute! Made me want my very own Golden Retriever!
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest
by Stieg Larsson My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This series was fascinating because I’m definitely not a thriller or mystery reader, yet was absolutely riveted by these books. Interesting and fun reads.
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman
by Robert K. Massie My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The historical and cultural parts were fascinating. The political parts got a bit long-winded at times, but it was generally a very interesting biography.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
by Jonathan Safran Foer My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Very good, if a bit macabre at times.
The Doctor and the Diva by Adrienne McDonnell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
A good commute book. Felt the opera parts we’re better-written, the fertility/relationship parts were a bit contrived…
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed it, gorgeous storytelling through illustrations.
Pilgrimage by Annie Leibovitz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Interesting to read/admire, loved the authors she visited and the photographs she took of them, especially of Alcott’s Orchard House and Emily Dickinson’s house. The text got a bit tiresome at times, and for some reason it bugged me when the text and photographs were out of sync in many places. But overall an interesting book to read and admire.
Blue Nights by Joan Didion
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Hard to read, yet I’m glad I did.
Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Finished it in a few hours, found it engrossing but unsatisfying. The author left way too many things unresolved plot-wise, which I guess was sort of the point but it didn’t really work in this case.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Really interesting, but kind of depressing…
Show Dog: The Charmed Life and Trying Times of a Near-Perfect Purebred by Josh Dean
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Made me both want a dog and not want to dog show! But interesting and fun to read.
Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics, 1981-2011, With Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes, and Miscellany by Stephen Sondheim
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Fascinating, if a bit overwhelming at times. I liked the essays interspersed with everything almost as much as his analysis of his lyrics.
