I've read a few good books this year, but have recently finished City of Thieves by David Benioff. I hadn't heard of it before I picked it up off the shelf and bought it but the simple blurb on the back intrigued me. It's about two prisoners in WW2 Russia who are given a week to search the desolate countryside for 12 eggs. If they succeed, they have their freedom. Failure means death by firing range. It's a beautiful, charming, character driven plot and, without having completed my year's reading, I have marked it down as my favourite so far this year (and actually, one of my favouite books full stop).

What's been your number one so far this year?

Message edited by its author, Aug 15, 2009, 2:19pm.

Nation by Terry Pratchett has been my absolute favourite this year (and perhaps for a few years)... it just really appealed to me and has stuck with me in the back of my brain since reading it in February.

World War Z, but Fox on the Rhine was a close second.

Message edited by its author, Aug 15, 2009, 5:18am.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. It was informative, eye-opening and awe-inspiring.

The Reader has been my favourite 'get me thinking'-book so far this year.

Corelli's Mandolin, aka Captain Corelli's Mandolin, by Louis de Bernieres. For me it had a few flaws, but it's beautifully written, and the depiction of the effects of war on people's behavior and on their lives is unforgettable, as are the stories of love in its various forms threaded throughout.

I loved Peace Like a River a great deal; however, Darling Jim was a surprise and very good, too.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I believe it is a children's classic, one to be giving my grandchildren, if I ever have any. I have a nephew named Jack, not sure I should get it for him... I'll see how his sense of humor develops, he's only one right now, so I have some time to think about it. ;)

>Mrs. Lee: The Graveyard Book was great. I went the other direction and gave it to my mother, who is in her 80s! She loved it.

I'm gonna agree with #1 on City of Thieves. I liked it enough to give it to two of my friends. Close seconds would be Three Cups of Tea}, The Book Thief, and The Sweetness at The Bottom of The Pie

How did I forget The Graveyard Book - Great read

Oh, this is such a toughy. For Fiction it would be Sing Them Home with Sweeping Up Glass a close second.

And for NonFic I think I'd have to go with either The Omnivore's Dilemma or Your Inner Fish.

The best Fantasy so far has been A Song for Arbonne with Coraline as second.

That's is such a hard question to answer! I've read so many great books this year, so far. But I guess the ones that have stuck with me the most have been:

Non-fiction: Love's Civil War: Elizabeth Bowen and Charles Ritchie by Victoria Glendinning, a book with Elizabeth's love letters to Charles and his journel entries about Elizabeth during their long love affair. I still go back to it and read passages now and then.

Fiction: It's really a toss up between Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym and Clara Callan By Richard B. Wright, both wonderful fiction about 2 women, totally different circumstances, but these 4 women have stayed with me.

Audio: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer. Hands down, just a delight to listen to, wonderful narrators for each letter writer, wonderful story, I've listened to it twice now and know I'll be listening to it lots more.

I've really got to get The Graveyard Book, it just sounds too good to wait any longer, and I enjoyed Coraline tremendously.

Message edited by its author, Aug 18, 2009, 8:18pm.

I recently read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society too and totally agree that it's a warm, funny and moving book and is a delight to read. I'll have to listen to the audio version now, too.

#13 & #14 - I also concur on Guernsey, but I read it last year, so I can't count it in this thread. :o)

The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter. It sounds like sci-fi space opera but it is nothing of the sort. It's a sequel to The Time Machine written in the same style as H.G. Wells. No Eloi or Weena, as you might have expected. It goes off in directions that constantly surprise.

Message edited by its author, Aug 15, 2009, 3:58pm.

Either Three Men in a Boat or Phineas Finn. Nothing written in this century has been as good.

I don't know if its the *best* thing I've read so far this year, but Lark Rise to Candleford has proven to be surprisingly memorable.

I posted about it on my blog: http://individualtake.blogspot.com/2009/...

Message edited by its author, Aug 15, 2009, 5:44pm.

#13, 14 & 15 - It was a stiff pull between the Guernsey book and The Graveyard, but I think the Gaiman book had more impact on me as a reader. The other was delightful and relaxing though.

#9 I don't think my mother would appreciate it, but oh I wish my grandmother were still alive to read it. She is the one who cemented my love of reading with gifts of the best books every year.

I found it interesting looking at my list of read books. Most of the five stars were rereads, some of them just didn't have the impact on me now that they did when I first read them, like Blue Like Jazz. However, four stars is very good in my rating system and even three isn't bad, so I've actually read a lot of fine books this year.

I've read a lot of amazing books this year. I've narrowed it down to the two, but I could easily list at least half a dozen other really great books, too.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
and
Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Both are amazing YA science fiction.

Message edited by its author, Aug 15, 2009, 7:26pm.

#16
Darrow, I'm right with you on The Time Ships... it's a great book, and my introduction to Stephen Baxter, an author that I really enjoy reading and have had the pleasure of meeting.

Eifelheim was a pleasant surprise, as I am not a regular reader of science fiction.

Message edited by its author, Aug 15, 2009, 8:47pm.

Acacia, very similar to G.R.R. Martin (hope he's not as slow with the sequels), closely followed by The Graveyard Book

Message edited by its author, Aug 15, 2009, 9:32pm.

I haven't been reading much new stuff this year. Doomsday Book by Connie Willis is probably the best one I've read this year, I think.

For me it's Libyrinth by Pearl North. (I promptly went out and got it for birthday presents all round. *ahem*)

Angel's Blood by Nalini Singh. Just finished reading

I've two favs so far this year ! Everyone Is Beautiful and Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society !

I loved Guernsey and The Graveyard Book, but the one I was most excited to read was The Last Olympian. I also loved John Adams.

I've not read many yet this year (side-effect of finishing the dreaded PhD) but I've just finished From the Holy Mountain, by William Dalrymple, a fascinating account of a journey through Turkey and the Levant discovering the circumstances of the Christian remnant and the history of the church through the last fourteen centuries or so. Seriously good stuff.

On the lighter front, I enjoyed re-reading A Song for Arbonne :-) (Although I failed to join the group discussion. Which reminds me, I should get on with The Little Prince...)

I adored 84, Charing Cross Road by Hanff. I think it's my only "10" this year.

#21 Tane: It's my first Baxter book but I will be reading more. What do you recommend?

#31
For me, he's a bit of a tricky one to pin down as he's written quite a few things from alternate history to Hard Sci-Fi, though none of them particularly like Time Ships (imo)... I very much enjoyed his Manifold series (though I'm sure I understood far less of it than I perhaps should admit ;-), and the Time's Tapestry series is an interesting set. Light of Other Days was another good one - co-written with Arthur C Clarke (another favourite of mine... he used to fund my college library). Evolution is another stand alone book that I kinda want to recommend, but as I've only read the beginning I'm not sure I could fully commit to it... there are others, but I'd probably just end up listing almost everything he's written, aside from the Xeelee Sequence stuff - not because it's bad (I'm sure it's not), but because I haven't read any of it.

Phew... all of that I didn't make a single reference to the Mammoth stories...

Anyway, out of that lot... I'd probably recommend the Time's Tapestry books as the best next place to go...

wow! thats hard to say.....

#32 Thanks for the recommendations Tane. I have just realized that I have read one more of Baxter's books: Manifold: Time , the first of the Manifold series. I enjoyed so I will continue with that series.

Favorite books this year for me:

5: Looking for Alaska by John Green. A contemplation of life and death from a young person's perspective.

4: Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk. LEAVE PYGMY ALONE! *sobs* You don't know what Chuck Palahniuk has been through! Snuff didn't do so well, his fans questioned whether he was a one trick pony! *sniffs* All you people want is more MORE more MORE MORE! You just want another Fight Club out of him! Leave him alone!

3: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson. Because cocaine's a hell of a drug.

2: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Even though that Ignatius treat his momma wrong.

1: Welcome to the N.H.K. by Tatsuhiko Takimoto. This book blew me away in its sheer sadness and bleak depiction of the hikikomori lifestyle, or rather social disorder. It is a reminder that stands as a testament to the reality that our circumstances are not just chance, but constructed by our own choices in life, whether good or bad.

I've tried to narrow it down, but there are three that are outstanding:

In the Woods by Tana French
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
The Rapture by Liz Jensen

Should we be talking about our favourite book this year if we are only in August?

Mine (that I have not re-read):

Evil Genius, Catherine Jinks. Young boy is taught how to become an evil criminal mastermind. Great, great fun.
Watchmen, Alan Moore. It's hard to summarise Watchmen in a sentence or two, but it's an graphic novel where superheroes first rose to prominence in the 1930's, and posits an alternate 1985 with the world inexonerably heading towards nuclear annihilation.
Steel Beach, John Varley - humans in the far future have all their needs met, but are getting extremely depressed.

Don't ask me to choose between the three - the first is a YA novel, the second is a graphic novel, and the third an adult fiction novel.

37 - I loved Evil Genius. If the second book's (Genius Squad) not out where you are, it's been out in Australia for a while, so you should be able to order it.

Hm, I'd say the Chanur books (which technically is 5 books but the 3 in the middle is one story, so), and Halting State, plus The dark heart of Italy for non fiction.

I'm in the middle of The Talking Ape, and I think when I finish it that one will oust the Italy book from the non-fic position.

Despite a rocky start and frustrating ending to The Bone Doll's Twin, I'd say my favorite overall so far is the Tamir Trilogy by Lynn Flewelling as a whole. There's just something about her writing that I really enjoy.

I just want you to know - you are all a very bad influence! I've done next to nothing all day except read The Guersney Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and it is all your faults.

*cackles with evil glee*

#38

Genius Squad was rather underwhelming as a sequel. Cadell Pigot is only fun to read when he is trying to hatch diabolical and intricate plans.

I'd say it was the second-most dissapointing sequel I've read this year, after Reflex by Steven Gould (sequel to Jumper).

There are several books I've read this year that I've given the five stars:

Anathem by Neal Stephenson. I loved both the writing and the whole idea of the story. I got it because of a great story about it in the Wired, and I wasn't disappointed. This book has also made me realize that I can love SF, and has made me read more SF this year.

Millennium: The End of the World and the Forging of Christendom by Tom Holland is a non-fiction history book about the early Middle Ages. I love almost all books about that period, but this was such an easy and good read. In a more non-popular science manner The Inheritance of Rome: A History of Europe from 400 to 1000 by Chris Wickham was also fantastic.

After all the recommendations here, seeing it up on top of the wishlist-list, I also got and read The Time Traveller's Wife. WOW. I loved this book so much. I don't normally read 'regular' fiction, but this one was great. Highly recommended.

Also, after reading a not so good review of Anathem, in which Stephenson was accused of stealing his idea from A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, I picked up that book. Another wow there. While reading it I wasn't so impressed with the story overall, but the strength is in the philosophies behind it. It is really a book that makes you think.

Oooh, how to pick one... If I absolutely had to, I think it would have to be Anathem, as it is still influencing my readings today.

>41. Hee hee, Sodapop! If helping you discover a wonderful book makes me a bad influence, then I'm delighted to be such a bad influence. : )

Message edited by its author, Aug 19, 2009, 10:35am.

And I'm delighted you all persuaded me to read it except that my mother is coming tomorrow and I need to clean my house!

Sodapop, just hand her the book when she walks in and make her start reading it, then you can clean while she's reading and she'll never know! Unless she's like my MIL, who doesn't read anything but the newspaper.

Give her the book and she won't notice the dust bunnies.

#47 & 48 That's a great idea and would probably work except I made the mistake of telling her yesterday that she HAD to read it. So now chances are she'll buy it in the bookshop at the airport and she'll have finished it by the time she gets here.
Although, as she doesn't land until 9.30pm (which will be 2.30am Fri for her), I can always just rush her off to bed and clean through the night.
I did actually finish the book late last night so I'm getting some cleaning done but Clam has now informed me that she has just received her copy of an eagerly anticipated ER book that we both won. If my copy arrives it's likely that cleaning will screech to a halt.

Message edited by its author, Aug 19, 2009, 12:20pm.

Definitely The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer .

There are several others I've read and enjoyed, but that's the only one I'll be rereading. I'm printing this thread, though, to investigate new possibilities. :-)

At the moment it's a tie between Peace Like A River by Leif Enger and The Clearing by Tim Gautreaux. Sci-fi/Fantasy is Flashforward by Robert J Sawyer,which is on t.v shortly!

49 - I sympathize with your cleaning problems. My mother-in-law is coming tomorrow morning so my night will be spent frantically cleaning as well...maybe I should leave work early.

Message edited by its author, Aug 19, 2009, 3:57pm.

Isn't it good to have company so houses get cleaned? I wish I had some company coming soon...my house needs cleaning badly and between reading and puttering on the computer, the house is successfully being ignored. LOL

Sodapop, I'm very glad to contribute to being a bad influence too though. ;-)

So far it's a toss up between Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell and Vanilla Ride by Joe R. Lansdale.

Was your MIL impressed with both the book and your spotless house, Sodapop?

#8 - Thank you, Mrs Lee and everyone else who recommended The Graveyard Book. My daughter brought it home from the library the other day and I picked it up when she was done with it. Loved it. Loved it. Loved it.
:o)

The house was not exactly spotless Rach but my mum loved the book. I believe she's read it twice already.

Yay for another convert to a great book. : ) I can also heartily recommend City of Theives and The House at Riverton by Kate Morton, which, whilst not in the top 5 of my favourites so far this year, would definitely feature in the top 10.

#44 - Anathem was REAL good, better than anything else I've read this year. But I read it in mid-December last year, so... not of this year.
Hopefully something like that will pass my path this year too. It's not over yet!

Oh I know the feeling, busifer... I didn't want to finish Anathem, because I hated to not be reading it anymore. Now I want to find another book that gives me the same feeling.... If you come across one, let me know!

#60 - A, they are far between, aren't they?

#56 - So glad you loved it too! :)

#62 - Oh, hee hee. I missed your reply in here. LOL
:o)

In fiction, A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson.
In juvenile fantasy, The Dragon of Trelian.

I loved The Graveyard Book, too. Looking at what I've read so far this year, I'm seeing a lot of solid 4 and 5 star picks. And, due to this thread, I have placed a hold on the Guernsey book at the library!

Out of the 91 books I've tagged as read this year, 3 got awarded 5 stars:
the little prince, babel 17 and ships of merior

several more made it to 4.5 *

- all the others in the mistwraith series, several of the later books Jim Butcher's harry dresden series, TP's the truth, Cherryh's forge of heaven vastly different from the 1st in the series, red mars and blue, but not green which was only 4*. The only non-SFnF book was the ship by Forester.

Must read more non-fiction!

#65 - Yes, you must.

Edited to add: So far more than a third of what I've read this year has been non-fic. It seems like more than that though because I seem to read non-fic at a slower pace. Theoretically anyway I've probably spent close to 50% of my time reading non-fic.

Message edited by its author, Sep 1, 2009, 7:53am.

My favorite so far is The Wicked Day by Mary Stewart, but I also gave 5 stars to 84 Charing Cross Road and At Large and at Small: Familiar Essays

#67-Have you read: The Crytal Cave, The Hollow Hills & The Last Enchantment? I am just finishing The Crystal Cave & really enjoying it. Some reviews I've read have been less than complimentary about The Wicked Day, so i am happy to hear something positive about it! 8^)

#68 - *raises hand* I didn't like The Wicked Day much, to be honest. I think I even gave it away, but kept the first three of the Merlin books in hardcover. I adored the first two, and enjoyed the third.

Message edited by its author, Sep 1, 2009, 5:41pm.

#67 - I read the first 3 which I really enjoyed, and almost didn't read The Wicked Day. I knew it would be about Mordred and the fall of Camelot and I didn't want to read about that. But I'm glad I did, I loved the way Stewart treated the backstory of Mordred's life and how she portrayed him as a more likable and compassionate character and not a pawn of Morgause as I was used to thinking of him.

Lud-in-the-Mist and The Eyre Affair. I picked them both up based on recommendations from people here, and I've been very glad.

71 - Oooh! I'm starting The Eyre Affair this week. Glad to hear good things.

#69 & 70 - Am I not the only one who constantly gets suckered into King Arthur stories only to hate it when they end up the way I know they must end up?

#72 - Be sure to visit our group discussions list on the main group page when you are done. It was a group read a while back and there were two discussion threads: one spoiler-full, one spoiler-free.

#73, MrsLee, I have the same difficulty. I don't like it when they muck about with the story too much (I had real doubts about NBC showing Merlyn this season) but I also don't like it if its just the same ol', same ol' knights-whacking-one-another and rescuing of flower-bedecked ladies.

The Wicked Day still ended up where it was supposed to end up. It was just a lovelier way of getting there than I thought it would be. Less anger and violence than I was expecting, though they were there of course.

I watched Merlyn with my kids, but had to think of it as a different story with the same character names.

I'm not done and I'm not sure it's my tippy-top favorite, but it's up there for the year.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer is delightful.

I just finished The Book Thief and even though I am not a fan of WWII stories, this one is magnificent and so so sad... I gave it five stars...

And all the good recommendations for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society make me want to pick it up even though it doesn't sound like something I would like...

Fiction: A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
Non fiction: Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America by David Hackett Fischer

It would be hard to beat these two for the year. If you like American colonial history or British cultural influence, Fischer's book is fascinating.

>78. To be honest, divinenanny, I thought the same before I read Guernsey. It's not the sort of book I would normally choose and I only picked it up because of the title. I'm very glad I did, though, as I was very pleasantly surprised.

That's it, Guernsey is on my wishlist now :D. I am really curious as to how I will like it!

The title of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society actually made me *not* want to read it. However, I have been converted by all the good reports and will read it (one day....). I watched The Island at War (BBC series) - if you can get your hands on it, it's v. good.

Well, I have recently decided that Darling Jim has been a very big favorite so far this year. But that may change...I really, really, really liked Farm City but it is not fiction. Are we asking for only fiction favorites?

Not at all, Maggie. It's any book that's been a favourite so far this year.

#69, 70 & 72-That is what i like about all the various versions of the King Arthur legend i. e. the many ways that the authors get us to the familiar conclusion by different routes. The way they juggle the characters, the character's names & relationships to get to the same inevitable fateful denouement. I feel the same way about the Robin Hood mythology. I am reading Mary Stewart's take on King Arthur right now and enjoying them greatly-currently reading the second one The Hollow Hills. Maybe i'm like little kids who want to hear the same stories over & over which seems to be for them a reassurance that all is still right w/the world. Of course as an adult i know that that is not really so-but i still love the tales anyway. 8^)

I agree with you ! Reading the "same" story being told from different viewpoints is always interesting !

Akira. All six volumes, which comes to about twenty-one hundred pages. An astounding piece of work.

It's hard to pick just one! Some 4.5-star books from this year:

Legend by David Gemmell
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch (finished last night)
Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days by Alastair Reynolds
Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover

>87 Is Akira easier to understand when you've read the books, as opposed to watching the movie? I've seen the movie several times, and while I find it fascinating, I really don't get it.

Michael Pryor's done it again for me. Time of Trial is one of my favourite books for the year so far, even if it's just because I haven't read many new ones. Also, Richard Harland's Worldshaker is another. Two Australian authors - well how about that?

#89

The movie and the novel are quite different. They both share the same main characters, setting, and themes (Katsuhiro Otomo wrote the book and directed the movie, BTW) but the actual story that occurs is quite different, even accounting for the fact that the movie condenses a two-thousand page story to a two-hour movie. Major plot aspects are greatly changed (and removed from the movie), some of the minor characters have different roles, and there are new characters that did not make it into the movie.

But in spite of these changes, both still seek to convey the same messages - how power is obtained and controlled, and how it corrupts those that have it. Oh, and lots of awesome fight scenes.

79 - Very late comment to say that Albion's Seed is on my list to read for 10-10-10 challenge. I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it.

A Song of Ice and Fire by G RR Martin totally blew away any idea I may have had about other books this year. Game of Thrones began the love affair, and A Feast of Crows hasn't sated it. Am waiting eagerly for A Dance with Dragons

At the year's ending I still think Chanur rocked (first book in pentalogy; Pride of Chanur), compared to my other reads. Species Imperative trilogy (first book; Survival) is a close contender, though. The concept of time and events as circular is pleasant but dangerous when stretched beyond reason, and I found the idea intriguing.

On the non fiction end of things I think The search for the perfect language will oust The talking ape from the winner's seat. They complement each other, though.

First book that popped in my mind was The Graveyard Book, but then I realised I read it in December last year.

So for this year it would be:

Under the Skin
The Secret History
The House Next Door

#73 et seq.: In his Fionavar Trilogy, Guy Kay provides a new ending to the Arthur story, which builds on the usual ones.

This hasn't been a year with a lot of wonderful books for me. Work kicked my butt for much of the year. I'd say my favorite was either Handling Sin or The Thirteenth Tale.

I loved The Hunger Games and Unwind, two excellent dystopian teen books that actually lived up to the hype.

Surprisingly, the books I've enjoyed most this year have been classified as "Young Adult": The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and a series of books by Holly Black called Tithe, Valiant and Ironside. They were far more gritty than I had expected. I'm still waiting to read the second part of Robin Hobb's newest book called Dragon Haven but if it's as good as Dragon Keeper then I won't be disappointed.

The only way I can think to gauge this is to list the books I rated 5 stars this year:
The Vintner's Luck by Elizabeth Knox
Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald
The Jack Irish Quinella by Peter Temple

I did have a quite a few 4 1/2 stars too...

In order of preference:
1. Lolita
2. Stupidest Angel
3. You suck this one was read to me :)
4. Bloodsucking Fiends

Message edited by its author, Dec 13, 2009, 5:26am.

Like many others, I can't really pick one favorite. Here are the ones I liked best.

Fiction:
The Judging Eye by R. Scott Bakker
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
All the Kings Men by Robert Penn Warren
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Nonfiction:
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America by John M. Barry

Wow, I'm really bad at narrowing things down. :)

A Game of Thrones. Like #93 said, once you start this series, your whole future reading plans get turned upside down. Unfortunately, I was halfway through the book when I got a pile of books for my birthday. (Including Under the Dome, which I'm halfway through (it's very good.))

Maybe going slow with A Song of Ice and Fire is good, since Mr. Martin is taking forever to finish it!

The Hunger Games, which came out in late '08, but I read this year.

The book that had the most impact on me was Asterios Polyp.
This graphic novel not only has a wonderful story about an architect trying to find himself, but also stunning art and a beautiful production.
Clearly in the same league as Epileptic, Persepolis or Arzach.

Your post made me realise I have missed out on cataloguing a handful of graphic novels, with Arzach as one of them.

Now I have a complicated cross checking to do - which are in and which are not?!

It's probably a toss up between The Magicians by Lev Grossman and the Aegypt Cycle by John Crowley. Since the Crowley was mostly a reread, the Grossman wins by default. A very entertaining read.

I read a few really excellent novels this year. I think the best of the best are:

The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (on audio)
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (also on audio)

Sorry, I couldn't decide between them, so I guess it's a tie.

Well Dragon Keeper is my only 5 star this year I think but there were quite a few 4.5 stars. I loved the whole of Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy, loved all but the ending of Jennifer Fallon's Immortal Prince series & also enjoyed quite a few young adult books which wouldn't rate so highly but were still very enjoyable :)

Oh, so many good books! This year, I really loved The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peal Pie Society and tried to get everyone I knew to read it too. I probably would have never picked it up but for the fact I was getting on a plane with no novels (I know, a shock. But all I had was school books) and it was the only book in the slim pickings of the airport that looked good. I am so glad I bought it.

I also stayed up all night reading The Hunger Games and Catching Fire . And though it is a book that has been out for a good while, I picked up a copy of The Samurai's Garden that was hanging around the house and it is definitely on my top list of books now.