Enraptured in 2011

Wow, the new group is already up and running! I feel so behind already x.x

I'm Zoe, and this is my thread for 2011. I'm aiming for 250 books this year (it sounds like a lot, but I regularly read 200+ books a year; 2010 was an exception, and I still made it almost to 200).

The books I read are all over the map, though I have a soft spot for science fiction, dystopias, urban fantasy that isn't paranormal romance, and YA speculative fiction (the genre I write in).

My book-rating system:
5 stars: I adored this book. Something about it was exceptional - it was very well-written, or fit my interests exactly, or I couldn't put it down.
4 stars: A solidly good book. It met my expectations, and I'm glad I read it.
3 stars: Meh. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't really my thing.
2 stars: I didn't like it.
1 star: This book was awful. Something about it really bothered me, whether it was the quality of writing, the plot, or something else.
unrateable: I have no way to rate this book. I read it for writing research and found it useful but didn't enjoy reading it, or it wasn't a bad book but something about it really offended me, or I hated the ending but loved the rest of the book.

My reading resolution for this year is to try to choose my books better. In 2010, I rated about two-thirds of my books 4 and 5 stars, which is plenty, but still means I only sort of liked (or didn't like at all) about a third of the books I read; I'm hoping to have a higher ratio of books I thoroughly enjoy this year.

My list of books I've read in 2011

Hey, Zoe! Glad to see you back again!

Hi Zoe! Have a great time meeting and exceeding your goals this year! Come around and visit one day soon.

I love YA dystopias! Also, good name :)

Welcome back!

Found and starred :)

Happy New Year, Zoe! I'm happy to be sharing another year of reading with you.

First review of the year! I'm trying out a different format this time; I'm not sure whether I'll stick with it.

#1: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
Rating: 3 stars
Why I chose it: Reading through the trilogy
Good stuff: I enjoyed seeing the story continue, and it went in some directions I didn't expect (especially what happened to Simon).
Bad stuff: It wasn't as strong as the first book, and there were hints that the surprise I enjoyed so much in the first book because it was so unexpected will be invalidated in book 3. I also didn't like the way Clary kept leading Simon on.

#2: Heat Wave by Richard Castle
Rating: 3 stars
Why I chose it: I enjoy the TV show, and my fiance recommended the book
Good stuff: This was written in just the right style; it brought the TV show to mind very well. I could hear Richard Castle's voice in the writing, and see all the show characters who the book characters were based on. It was fun.
Bad stuff: I enjoyed the inside-joke aspects of the book, and how it read like an episode of the show, but taken on its own as a novel it wasn't very satisfying.

>8 Enraptured: Oh Simon, poor guy. I've read the whole trilogy already and really enjoyed it (so much that I bought them) but I'll be interested to see what your opinion is of the third book.

#3: Naked Heat by Richard Castle
Rating: 4 stars
Why I chose it: I enjoyed the first Richard Castle book
Good stuff: This one stood on its own a lot better than the first one did. In addition to being a giant in-joke for people who have watched the show, it was also a good story. There were so many twists and turns, and so many different suspects, I had a hard time keeping it all straight.
Bad stuff: I can't think of anything off the top of my head. It was a solidly fun book.

I love Castle. That is all. *swoons*

I read Cassandra Clarke's triology, but I ending up not liking the third book as much. I think I'm in the minority there though as most people rated it really high. I too will be interested in hearing what you think. I liked the first book enough that I think I'll still give her next series a try later this year.

I read the Mortal Instruments series recently and have mixed feelings about it. I really like some aspects, while others (including the surprise you mention and the 'love triangle' it creates) put me off. I'll be interested to see what you think of the resolution.

#4: My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor
Rating: 4 stars
Why I chose it: My mom gave it to me for Christmas last year... or was it two years ago?

Good stuff: This is a fascinating look at the human brain and how it works - it's written by a stroke survivor, and she talks about the experience of her stroke and what it made her realize about consciousness. I love books that examine the nature of consciousness, and that talk about spiritual issues with an analytical perspective. (If you're wondering about the spirituality, she doesn't talk about God or religion, but does talk about love and interconnectedness from a more spiritual perspective.) I appreciated, too, that she talks about how changing your own thoughts and emotions is difficult and takes practice; a lot of people talk about it like it's as simple as flipping a switch ("Just take a deep breath and make a choice to feel differently!"), which drives me up a wall! I also learned more about how the brain works, and which parts do what. And I found it encouraging to see that she could recover so thoroughly from her stroke after losing so much.

Bad stuff: This is a short book, but it took me months to finish it! I'm not even sure why. The writing just never engaged me to the point where I made it my main reading material. Also, the author is awfully hard on the left brain; she makes it clear that it serves a useful purpose, but she's a lot more critical of it than she is of the right brain.

#5: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
Rating: 4 stars
Why I chose it: Finishing the trilogy

Good stuff: So much happened in this book! Or maybe the pace was just really fast. Either way, I remember being surprised that this was all one book. All in all, I thought it was a satisfying end to the trilogy.

Bad stuff: I never did warm up to Jace as a love interest. (Why doesn't the heroine ever choose the warm comforting best-friend type instead of the arrogant jerk?) Also, I spotted the new evil character very quickly. And although I enjoyed the trilogy, I think I've gotten enough of the world; I don't really feel like reading the other books.

#16: Why doesn't the heroine ever choose the warm comforting best-friend type instead of the arrogant jerk?

I think it is a rule in books written for that particular age group that the girl must love the 'bad' boy.

I hope to get to Clare's series this year. I just got the last two books at CostCo, so here's hoping.

I agree with you about both Jace (I always felt like he was /trying/ so hard! And I actually liked them better in the other role they could have played in each others' lives) and about the blatant evil of the evil character.

That said, Clare absolutely writes page turners and I see why she's popular with the teen set. I saw recently that they're casting for the movies, so it'll be interesting to see what comes of those.

>15 Enraptured: I haven't read My Stroke of Insight, but her talk about this was the first TED video I ever saw. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Completely mesmerizing!

#6: Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches' Guide to Romance Novels by Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan
Rating: 4 stars
Why I chose it: I like the authors' blog, so I stuck their book on my Paperback Swap wishlist

Good stuff: This book was fun! It reminded me a lot of the blog. And I learned a lot about the basic structure of romance novels; I haven't read enough of them to be too familiar with the specifics of how they're structured, and this book explained it well, in an entertaining way.

Bad stuff: I'm not quite the intended audience, since I don't read very much romance. I'm sure if I were an avid romance reader I would have gotten more out of it.

#7: Black Ice by Anne Stuart
Rating: 4 stars
Why I chose it: Reading the previous book made me feel like reading a romance

Good stuff: It was light and undemanding, and at the same time nicely dark. I had fun reading it.

Bad stuff: It was kind of over-the-top at times, and the hero's dangerousness was mentioned a bit too often. And there were a couple of explicit sex scenes; I don't object to sex scenes on a philosophical level, I just don't tend to be interested.

#22: I have that one hanging around my house somewhere. One of these days, I might actually read it.

#21 Oh great. I'm now hooked on the author's website and have managed to add yet more books to Mount TBR.

And it's ALL YOUR FAULT.

#21 I enjoy their blog as well and didn't realize there was a book. I'm not a big reader of romance novels either but considering my background in English lit I'd be interested to see their description of the basic structure. Maybe I'll have to peek around for this one.

#8: Cold As Ice by Anne Stuart
Rating: 4 stars
Why I chose it: I enjoyed the first book in the series

Good stuff: This book somehow managed to be both dark and fun, just like the first one. Although I normally prefer warmer and friendlier love interests, I liked the cold and driven hero of this one.

Bad stuff: It was as over-the-top as the last one, and the villain had all the subtlety of a Mercedes Lackey villain (wow, I haven't thought of her books in ages; I devoured nearly all of her Valdemar books when I was a teenager), but I'm not even sure whether I should be listing that under bad stuff, because it didn't bother me. It was part of the fun.

#9: Ice Blue by Anne Stuart
Rating: 2 stars
Why I chose it: I enjoyed the other two books in the series

Good stuff: After reading Cold As Ice, I was hoping to get some resolution on Takashi's story, and this book gave it to me. Isobel's character also keeps getting more interesting, which makes sense because the book after this is hers.

Bad stuff: It was a MacGuffin plot, which I don't tend to like. And I never got as good a sense of Summer and Takashi as I did of the respective heroes and heroines in the other two books. (But other people have said Summer and Takashi are two of the strongest characters in the series, so YMMV.)

#10: The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks
Rating: 3 stars
Why I chose it: I wanted to reread the first two books of the trilogy so I could read the third book

Good stuff: This book is sort of urban fantasy but not, and sort of dystopian but not; I love both urban fantasy (the old-school kind, which this would qualify as, to the extent that it's urban fantasy at all) and dystopias, and enjoyed the combination a lot. The unusual juxtaposition also created a unique world for the story. It also seems like the author was trying to make it as just-plain-cool as possible, and it was easy to get caught up in the shininess.

Bad stuff: When I read this two years ago I gave it five stars and put it on my list of top ten books I read that year. I'm not sure what changed from that reading to this one. It probably has to do with the fact that after I read it the first time I visited the author's website and found out that he actually believes the conspiracy theories he put in his book. The cinematic style was also wearing after awhile. Whatever the reason, I was confused and kind of frustrated; I really wanted to love it, but it didn't live up to my memories.

#11: From Idea to Story in 90 Seconds by Ken Rand
Rating: 3 stars
Why I chose it: I saw it recommended somewhere - possibly a writing forum

Good stuff: I enjoyed the metaphysics-lite discussion of where ideas come from, and the part about habits and rituals and changing the brain. I haven't tried out the idea-generation method he talks about yet, because I've been immersed in querying one novel and planning another, but it seems like a good one.

Bad stuff: I don't relate well to discussions about writing that put the right brain and left brain in stark opposition, especially when the left brain is painted as the villain getting in the way of your creative self. I use both sides of my brain when I'm writing; yes, they do different things, but I need both types of thought when I'm writing, and often I need both at once. Walking isn't a struggle between my right leg and my left leg, and writing isn't a struggle between my right brain and my left brain.

I also loved the Traveler series. Not sure the website isn't just more marketing....it all sounds a bit too dedicated.

#28: I need to get to that series. Thanks for the reminder, Zoe!

I also loved the Traveler series. Not sure the website isn't just more marketing....it all sounds a bit too dedicated.

I hadn't considered that, but it would make sense!

#12: XVI by Julia Karr
Rating: 2 stars
Why I chose it: It's dystopian! I love dystopias.

Good stuff: I'm always interested to see a different type of dystopia. The mystery of the message Nina's mother left her intrigued me, and I wanted to find out what it meant. And I liked that the main character was uninterested in sex while the rest of the world was obsessed with it; it reminded me of being a teenager and watching the people around me get obsessed with boys and dating.

Bad stuff: I didn't find the world plausible, which made it hard to get into the story. The premise is that all sixteen-year-old girls are required to get a tattoo that tells the world they're ready for sex - but how would society get to that point? I couldn't figure it out. And while I liked the contrast between how Nina saw sex and how the rest of the world did, I never felt like I got to know her as well as I wanted to.

(It didn't occur to me before now, but I should have waited a bit to read this one, to make it my sixteenth book of the year instead of my twelfth!)

I also tend to enjoy (YA) dystopias but this is the second 'meh' review I've heard for this book so I think I'll skip it. Hope your next read is better.

#13: The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher
Rating: 4 stars
Why I chose it: As a YA dystopia/post-apocalyptic story, it was on my list to begin with, and the ebook was on sale at Barnes and Noble's website

Good stuff: The voice of this book was unique, but in a subtle way, if that makes sense. The writing wasn't showy, but at the same time it had a distinctive flavor to it. And the premise, with the world devastated by a lack of water, could easily have turned preachy, but it didn't feel that way to me, at least not most of the time. I got the sense that the story was what mattered, not the message.

Bad stuff: It got a little hard to follow at times. I also wasn't sure about the ending; I didn't have as much faith as the characters that their solution would do anything to solve the problems long-term. It reads like it needs a sequel, but I don't know if the author is writing one.

I'd thought XVI looked good, but it frustrates me when dystopia writers don't bother to explain why things are the way they are. It seems like lazy writing, to me. It's all well and good to say society has become this way, but we need a "why" if we're to care and really understand the story!

I'll keep an eye out for that one at the library, but I won't go searching for it like I thought I would at one time.

#14: Ice Storm by Anne Stuart
Rating: 3 stars
Why I chose it: I read the previous three books in the series

Good stuff: After seeing hints of Isobel's character in the previous three books, I enjoyed the chance to see her in more detail and find out what had made her the person she was.

Bad stuff: I didn't connect with Isobel as much as I had hoped, and didn't feel much connection with Killian at all. And the revelation at the end felt a bit too... easy to me. It's not like I didn't see it coming - there were hints throughout the book - but it seemed to erase the main thing standing away of their relationship, just like that.

#15: Skeletons Don't Sleep by Jeff and Kelly Halldorson
Rating: 3 stars
Why I chose it: I'm vaguely acquainted with the authors

Good stuff: Jeff and Kelly are doing a lot, both with this book and their promotional efforts, to try to make people more aware of childhood sexual abuse, especially in boys, and the problems that result from it. This can't have been an easy story to tell, and I have a lot of respect for Jeff - and Kelly as well - for telling it.

Bad stuff: I've read a bunch of abuse memoirs, and I've been burned out on them for awhile; they get difficult to read. And although certainly realistic, the end was disheartening in a way, a reminder that even when the situation gets resolved the problems are still there.

#16: Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Rating: 4 stars
Why I chose it: Another YA dystopia. This book is being promoted all over the place.

Good stuff: This was a unique YA dystopia in that it was set on a spaceship; in fact, I'd call it science fiction primarily and dystopia secondarily. The author clearly put a lot of thought into the world. And while I figured out one of the twists early on, in a lot of places the book kept me guessing.

Bad stuff:The book was kind of slow to get started. It was worth it in the end, and I understand the reason for the slow setup, but I was a lot more engaged in the story near the end.

Adding The Water Wars to the BlackHole. Across the Universe is already there.

Thanks for the reviews and recommendations, Zoe!

@29: I like the review. I'll try to check it out. Of course, I've picked up a handful of other books on writing in recent years that I haven't managed to read yet. I appreciate your point that writing is an integrated process that relies on multiple inputs working together, not antagonistically.

happy almost birthday. I hope the 14th is a special day for you.