Click here to purchase Blood Brothers on DVD

Blood Brothers is set in 1930s Shanghai a flourishing modern-day Babylon replete with warlords politicians wealthy industrialists courtesans and gangsters. Three innocent young brothers Kang (Liu Ye Curse of the Golden Flower ) Fung (Daniel Wu Around the World in 80 Days ) and Xiao Hu (Tony Yang) arrive in this seeming paradise in search of a better life. Enticed by the rich and powerful world of organized crime the three brothers start down a path of no return: they are hired to do the bidding for one of the city s largest mob syndicate. When Fung begins an affair with the mob boss girlfriend beauty Lulu (Shu Qi Transporter) and life takes a difficult turn for all three brothers when the forbidden love affair is exposed. Friends turn against friends brother against brother.

Click here to purchase Journey to the Center of the Earth starring: Brendan Frasier on DVD

On a quest to find out what happened to his missing brother, a scientist, his nephew and their mountain guide discover a fantastic and dangerous lost world in the center of the earth.

Click here to purchase Sleepwalking on DVD

Sleepwalking follows an 11-year-old girl's struggle to come to terms with her mother's abandonment.

Click here to purchase Stop Loss starring Ryan Phillippe on DVD

In Stop Loss, starring Ryan Phillippe, a veteran soldier returns from his completed tour of duty in Iraq, only to find his life turned upside down when he is arbitrarily ordered to return to field duty by the Army.

Click here to purchase Superhero Movie starring: Pamela Anderson on DVD

In Superhero Movie, starring: Pamela Anderson, orphaned high school student Rick Riker is bitten by a radioactive dragonfly, develops super powers (except for the ability to fly), and becomes a hero.

Click here to purchase The Tracey Fragments starring: Ellen Page on DVD

In The Tracey Fragments starring: Ellen Page, 15-year-old Tracey Berkowitz is naked under a shower curtain at the back of a bus, looking for her little brother Sonny, who thinks he's a dog. Oscar®-nominated Ellen Page (Juno) delivers an extraordinary performance as a feisty independent-minded teenager with a unique view of the world. From cutting-edge director Bruce McDonald (Hard Core Logo Roadkill) The Tracey Fragments tells the story of an outsider who uses fantasy to help her deal with a secret crush loneliness and frustration. When her 7-year-old brother wanders away while under her care she examines her life as she is propelled on a late-night journey through the city in a desperate attempt to find him.

Click here to purchase Snow by Maxence Fermine

by Maxence Fermine

Rating: 3.5

Yuko Akita had two passions. Haiku. And snow.

Yuko is a poet who loves snow and writes Haiku poetry only about snow. The Poet of the Imperial Court thinks Yuko has great potential but thinks his poetry needs more color. He then sends him on a journey to a blind poetry master named Soseki where Yuko will not only learn about poetry, but also about love.

I really loved aspects of this book and the language is lyrical, but parts of it just didn't sit right with me. It takes only an hour or two to read, though, so I do recommend it as something different from the usual that is not too time-consuming.

1999, 100 pp., translated from the French

Click here to purchase The Gathering by Ann Enright

by Ann Enright

Rating: 4

The Gathering by Anne Enright won the Booker Prize in 2007. The novel is about family relationships, grief, and memory. Veronica comes from a large family of 12 siblings (plus several stillbirths). Her closest brother Liam has just committed suicide, and as she deals with her grief about losing her brother, the event dredges up some fairly shocking childhood memories. Soon she doesn't know how she feels about either of her families -- either her childhood family or even her husband and children.

The language and scenes are shocking and graphic. The subject matter is dark and depressing. Normally, I would have predicted that I would have hated this book, and I can see why many don't like it. But, Enright's writing drew me in. Veronica's voice is so brutally honest it cut through me. Definitely not for everyone, but it's a book you think about long after you've finished it, and in my mind, that's the mark of a good one.

2007, 261 pp.

2007 Booker Prize winner

Click here to purchase Snow by Maxence Fermine

by Maxence Fermine

Rating: 3.5

Yuko Akita had two passions. Haiku. And snow.

Yuko is a poet who loves snow and writes Haiku poetry only about snow. The Poet of the Imperial Court thinks Yuko has great potential but thinks his poetry needs more color. He then sends him on a journey to a blind poetry master named Soseki where Yuko will not only learn about poetry, but also about love.

I really loved aspects of this book and the language is lyrical, but parts of it just didn't sit right with me. It takes only an hour or two to read, though, so I do recommend it as something different from the usual that is not too time-consuming.

1999, 100 pp., translated from the French

Click here to purchase Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood

by Margaret Atwood

I loved this book, perhaps even more than The Handmaid's Tale, which I also rated 4.5. Whereas The Handmaid's Tale was mostly a cautionary tale about men's subjugation of women, Cat's Eye is about girls subjugating and intimidating other girls. Elaine Risley as an adult is a successful artist, but as a little girl she was bullied by her friends and their ringleader, Cordelia. What makes little girls (and big ones!) do this, and why do the ones being tormented let them do it?

In an interview in the back of the book, Atwood states this is her most autobiographical novel, and she states the theme of the book as follows:

Cat's Eye is about how girlhood traumas continue into adult life. Girls have a culture marked by secrets and shifting alliances, and these can cause a lot of distress. The girl who was your friend yesterday is not your friend today, but you don't know why. These childhood power struggles color friendships between women. I've asked women if they fear criticism more from men or from other women. The overwhelming answer was: "From women."

In typical Atwood fashion, there were also themes concerning male-female relationships. In one painting of Elaine's, called Falling Women, she describes what was meant in the artwork:

There were no men in this painting, but it was about men, the kind who caused women to fall. I did not ascribe any intentions to these men. They were like the weather, they didn't have a mind. They merely drenched you or struck you like lightning and moved on, mindless as blizzards. Or they were like rocks, a line of sharp slippery rocks with jagged edges. You could walk with care along between the rocks, picking your steps and if you slipped you'd fall and cut yourself, but it was no use blaming the rocks.

That must be what was meant by fallen women. Fallen women were women who had fallen onto men and hurt themselves. There was some suggestion of downward motion, against one's will and not with the will of anyone else. Fallen women were not pulled-down women or pushed women, merely fallen.

Definitely one to read if you've enjoyed other Atwood novels.

1988, 462 pp.

Rating: 4.5

Click here to purchase Bear by Marian Engel

by: Marian Engel

1976 Governor General's Award

1976, 141 pp.

Rating: 0.5

Ummm.....no. No, no, no, no, no. I don't think I can recommend this title. That this book won the Governor General's Award flabbergasts me. A librarian and a bear get kinky on a small Canadian island. That's all you really need to know to realize why I didn't like this book.

Click here to purchase Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

by Margaret Atwood

2005, 198 pp.

Rating: 4.5

I love mythology in general, and The Odyssey in particular, so I was hoping to love this book. I did. Margaret Atwood's retelling of the famous myth from Penelope's point of view is brilliant and quite humorous. As she tells the story from Hades, we get Penelope's take on her father, Odysseus, Telemachus, and Helen among others. You probably have to know the story of The Odyssey fairly well to really get the full impact, though. If you're familiar with the original myth, you must read this re-telling.

This was my fourth Atwood, and I'm looking forward to reading even more of her work during the second Canadian Book Challenge.

Click here to purchase City of Men on DVD

City of Men is about best buddies Acerola and Laranjinha, about to turn 18, discover things about their missing fathers' pasts which will shatter their solid friendship, in the middle of a war between rival drug gangs from Rio's favelas.

Click here to purchase Drillbit Taylor starring Owen Wilson on DVD

Drillbit Taylor, starring Owen Wilson, is about three kids who a low-budget bodyguard to protect them from the playground bully.

Click here to purchase My Blueberry Nights starring Jude Law and Norah Jones on DVD

My Blueberry Nights, starring Jude Law and Norah Jones, is about a young woman takes a soul-searching journey across America to resolve her questions about love while encountering a series of offbeat characters along the way.

Click here to purchase Vantage Point starring Dennis Quaid on DVD

In Vantage Point, starring Dennis Quaid, the attempted assassination of the American President is told and re-told from several different perspectives.

Click here to purchase Independent People by Halldor Laxness

by Halldor Laxness

Bjartur of Summerhouses has one goal: total independence. After being a servant for 18 years, he finally obtains his own land, and while ever seeking the land's improvements, Bjartur and his extreme self-reliance costs his family dearly. He mistreats his own wife and children, not overtly, but through his unwillingness to accept help of any kind from neighbors. His independence, his dog, and his sheep are of primary and utmost importance. But is it possible to be too independent? What happens to Bjartur when his own children demand independence from him?

Reading a book set in Iceland in January really set the mood for this story. The cold, the coffee, the sheep, and the stubbornness of one man against the world are what I will remember about this book. With themes of materialism, socialism, war, and politics, Independent People by Nobel laureate Halldor Laxness is more than relevant for today.

1934-35 , 482 pp.

Nobel prize-winning author

Rating: 4

Click here to purchase Love and Other Disasters starring: Brittany Murphy and Gwyneth Paltrow on DVD

Starring: Brittany Murphy

Rating: 3.5

"Love and Other Disasters" was one of those movies that I liked more the more I watched it. At first I honestly didn't know if I would be able to get through the whole movie as the main character has a habit that I found very annoying. But as the movie went on, that habit either annoyed me less, or it wasn't as prevalent in the movie.

A movie about four Londoners trying to succeed in both life and love, "Love and Other Disasters" seems like it could be almost any other movie. However, they do take some fun artistic licenses that make the movie surprisingly unique.

I liked "Love and Other Disasters". As I said, I liked it more and more as the movie went on. There are, of course, predictable moments. There are also moments where you'll think 'oh come on. Who does that?' But, it was still a fun movie. I would watch it again.

Click here to purchase Definitely, Maybe starring: Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fischer, Rachel Weisz, and Kevin Kline on DVD

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Rachel Weisz, Isla Fischer, and Kevin Kline

Rating: 3.5

"Definitely, Maybe" is about a man who tries to tell his daughter about his dating life before he married her mother. She then guesses who the women are, and which is her mom.

"Definitely, Maybe" is a cute story, and they way it's told makes it even more fun. The actors do a great job of being believable.

Overall, it was a fun movie, and I'm glad that I saw it. "Definitely, Maybe" definitely won't go on my favorite movies of all times list. I recommend you see it. "Definitely, Maybe" is a great movie for a light evening.

Click here to purchase Life of Pi by Yann Martel

By: Yann Martel

2001; 336 pages

Rating: 3.5

"Life of Pi" is the story of Piscine Patel. Pi and his family are moving from India to Canada. However, on the way there, the boat they are traveling on sinks. Pi finds himself stranded in a lifeboat with an unusual mix of company.

I had a really hard time getting into "Life of Pi". After a week I was only a little over 50 pages in. So, to me, "Life of Pi" had a pretty slow start. In fact, I almost put it aside with no intention of finishing it. I had heard great things about it, so I pushed through. There were aspects of the story of course that I found fascinating, but it wasn't until I was half way through that I really got into the story and knew I would finish.

I really enjoyed the second half of the book. But, it was an effort for me to get there. I do recommend that you read "Life of Pi". I do think though that "Life of Pi" is geared more towards the young male readers than to 20 something female readers.

When you read "Life of Pi", you'll certainly learn a thing or two about survival.

Click here to purchase 10,000 B.C. on DVD

10,000 B.C. is a prehistoric epic that follows a young mammoth hunter's journey through uncharted territory to secure the future of his tribe.

Click here to purchase Bonneville starring: Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates on DVD

"Bonneville" starring: Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates is about three women who take a road trip to Santa Barbara in order to deliver the ashes of one of their dead husbands to his resentful daughter.

Click here to purchase Definitely, Maybe starring: Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fischer, Rachel Weisz, and Kevin Kline on DVD

"Definitely, Maybe" starring: Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fischer, Rachel Weisz, and Kevin Kline is about a political consultant who tries to explain his impending divorce and past relationships to his 11-year-old daughter.

Click here to purchase Persepolis on DVD

Persepolis is a poignant coming-of-age story of a precocious and outspoken young Iranian girl that begins during the Islamic Revolution.

Click here to purchase The Spiderwick Chronicles on DVD

The Spiderwick Chronicles is about twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace, who along with their sister Mallory, find themselves pulled into an alternate world full of faeries and other creatures.

I decided to join the Pub 2008 hosted by 3M. Here's how it works:

Want to read more books that are published in the current year? You've come to the right place! This challenge lasts all year. The rules are simple:

Read a minimum of 8 books published in 2008. (Library books are acceptable!)
1. No children's/YA titles allowed, since we're at the 'pub.'
2. At least 4 titles must be fiction.
3. Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
4. Titles may be changed at any time.

It should be really fun!

Click here to purchase The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

by: Margaret Atwood

2000, 521 pp.

Booker Prize

Rating: 3.5

I was disappointed in this book. I expected great things after loving The Handmaid's Tale earlier in the year. I was especially disappointed as it was over 500 pages; it could have easily lost about 100 pages of detail. I guess that's my main gripe about it. It just seemed too detailed for me. Also I correctly predicted almost all that happened. Long, too detailed, and too predictable. But still, Atwood does know how to turn a phrase, and that is why it still gets a 3.5 star rating.