January 26, 2008

Melissa de la Cruz: Masquerade



(A review will be inserted here shortly.)


January 24, 2008

Louise Rennison: Georgia Nicholson

Angus and On the Bright Side

Books one and two in a series about a teenage girl in living in the United Kingdom. Angus is the name of her strange cat who always seems to be in trouble. It also behaves like it's not even a cat, but some other creature. Very quick reads and tres amusant.


January 21, 2008

Ptrick Carman: Beyond the Valley of the Thorns



This is the second book in the Land of Elyon series. (Review will be inserted here shortly.)


January 15, 2008

Melissa de la Cruz: Blue Bloods



Since I heard people mention this book on LT so much, I decided to buy it when I found it at a used book store. While I didn't enjoy as much as others probably did, I think it was only because of all the switching from character to character. It was a good book, though, and I will persue the next book in the series.


January 13, 2008

Patrick Carman: The Dark Hills Divide



This is the first book int he Land of Elyon series. I passed this book up many times while considering whether or not my kid sister would like to read it. I think LT has made me not so bashful about reading YA books. I found it at a used book store and silly me, only bought the first book. I wasn't sure if I would continue the series at the time. I knew half way into it that that was a mistake. I loved this book and can't wait to read the other three books.


January 12, 2008

Caprice Crane: Forget About It



I hardly read the first five chapters before I was hooked to this book. I could see that some people might dislike that they mention amnesia on the backcover and feel as though it spoils the book, but it's nearly the whole point of the story. The main character, obviously uhappy in her life that was seeming to go either no where or downhill, uses it to change what she doesn't like about her life. Of course, it's only temporarily that she can use that before she has to learn to change on her own without the amnesia as an excuse. I thought it was a wonderful book with a great message.


January 10, 2008

Holly Black: Ironside



I was happy to finally get into this one. I'd bought it on New Year's Eve and don't know why I didn't start reading that one first instead of the Maguire's awful book. Ironside is the third book in a YA series. Like the first two books, I read it quickly, finishing it actually on the ninth of this month. (No computer access at the time.) If Black continues the series, I will most definitely read whatever book(s) come(s) next.

Before reading this book, I didn't plan anything special for my first book of the year. I plucked from Gregory Maguire's What the Dickens off a shelf and struggled to read it for days before I put it aside and decided I was through. I hate doing that, but the book honestly seems as though it's only adult audience would be those who read it out loud to children.


Overview of 2007

1. J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
2. Jane Austen: Sense and Sensibility
3. J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
4. J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
5. Ben Schoen: Mugglenet.com’s What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7?
6. Jane Austen: Northanger Abbey
7. Elizabeth Flock: Me & Emma
8. J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
9. J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
10. J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
11. Galadriel Waters: New Clues to Harry Potter: Book 5
12. David Langford: The End of Harry Potter?
13. J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
14. Jasper Fforde: Thursday Next: First Among Sequels
15. Charles de Lint: Newford: Little (Grrl) Lost
16. Jodi Picoult: My Sister’s Keeper
17. Stephenie Meyer: Twilight: Twilight
18. Stephenie Meyer: Twilight: New Moon
19. Stephenie Meyer: Twilight: Eclipse
20. Neil Gaiman: Stardust
21. Frances Hardinge: Fly by Night
22. Lawrence Gain and Juliet H. Mofford: Cry "Witch!" The Salem Witchcraft Trials
23. Charles de Lint: Newford: Promises to Keep
24. Marya Hornbacher: Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia
25. Stephenie Meyer: Twilight: Twilight
26. Stephenie Meyer: Twilight: New Moon
27. Stephenie Meyer: Twilight: Eclipse
28. Philip Pullman: His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass
29. Philip Pullman: His Dark Materials: The Subtle Knife
30. Philip Pullman: His Dark Materials: The Amber Spyglass
31. Holly Black: Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale
32. Holly Black: Valiant
33. Feline Friends: A Cat Lover’s Treasury
34. William Goldman: The Princess Bride
35. Julie Gregory: Sickened: The Memoir of a Munchausen by Proxy Childhood

Books Read by Month:
January: 0
February: 1
March: 2
April: 3
May: 1
June: 3
July: 3
August: 6
September: 3
October: 3
November: 5
December: 4

Books Read by Genre:
Children’s/YA: 17(20)
Classic Lit: 2
Non-YA Fantasy: 2
Fiction: 3
Nonfiction: 4
Reference: 3
Series completed: 2

New Authors:
Holly Black
Elizabeth Flock
Neil Gaiman
Lawrence Gain (and Juliet H. Mofford)
William Goldman
Julie Gregory
Frances Hardinge
Marya Hornbacher
David Langford
Stephenie Meyer
Jodi Picoult
Ben Shoen
Galadriel Waters

Re-reads:
Harry Potter books 1-6 (though I read the UK editions for the first time)
Twilight books 1-3

Most Eagerly Anticipated Books:
1. J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
2. Stephenie Meyer: Eclipse
3. Jasper Fforde: Thursday Next in First Among Sequels
4. Charles de Lint: Promises to Keep
5. Charles de Lint: Little (Grrl) Lost