What are you reading in November 2011?

Thought I'd start a new thread for the new month!

I just started The Death Cure, and am eager to find out how it all ends. Will report back.

I just finished up The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson last night/early this morning and I quite enjoyed it. I had a few minor qualms with how some things were done, but there were also elements of the book I thought Maureen Johnson did really well. London boarding school + hilarious Louisiana girl + {awesome plot point that will remain unnamed to prevent spoilers} = a recipe for a great book in my mind.

Ah, that looks like a good one, @Caliosa. I'm going to keep an eye out for it.

>2 Cailiosa: That is on my wishlist to look for at the library. Glad to see you gave it a good report!

I just started The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

I've got The Name of The Star on my TBR pile at home. I'm a fan of Maureen's realistic fiction and am curious to see how she goes with the supernatural. I'm trying to decide whether I should read it now or put it aside and wait until the other books in the series are released. A long wait, I know, but I do tend to like reading books in a series back to back. Hmmm. Decisions, decisions!

In the meantime, I'm onto the second House of Night book. Pretty average thus far but I suspect I'll still work my way though a few more of the books in the hope that the authors develop the characters some more. I have issues with how thinly drawn they seem to be.

Sandy, I'd be interested to know what you think about The Scorpio Races.
: )

I'm in the middle of Darwen Arkwright and the Peregrine Pact which just took a turn toward "creepy" after being "sleepy" for the first half. Hope it picks up.

Also reading Skulduggery Pleasant book 1 and enjoying the premise so far.

#6: I kept reading those books, thinking I should stop, but was unable to! They're like a magically mundane trainwreck you can't stop looking at.

I read Mastiff by Tamora Pierce and Goliath by Scott Westerfeld, which are both stellar examples of the respective authors, certainly among the best books each has published to date.

I love some of Maggie Stiefvater's books and find others just fall flat, so I'm also curious what people think of The Scorpio Races. Ditto The Name of the Star and Maureen Johnson's books, actually.

9 - Excited to hear you say that about Mastiff! Man, I've got to get that ordered.

Currently reading (and have been for some time... collleeeege) Promise the Night by Michaela MacColl, which I got from the ER program. I really liked my first MacColl book, Prisoners in the Palace, and this one is just as good even though the subjects couldn't be more different. She writes really fun, compelling books - you just feel good reading them. Hope to finish it soon, but with end of term approaching... doubtful.

I also recently pre-ordered John Green's new novel The Fault in Our Stars - can't wait for January! If anybody's unaware and possibly interested, he's signing every single pre-order - pretty unprecedented, I think. Just a heads up!

My kids and I are listening to The Hobbit. I don't remember who's reading it.

I'm listening to The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa. It's the 4th in a quartet from Harlequin Teen, which is why I listened to the first one but I must say that even without my bias I would have enjoyed the series very much, except for some angst that as a middle-aged married mother I don't always sympathise with ;-).

Just finished Rules by Cynthia Lord and thought it was well-done.

Penn

I am reading The Hobbit as well and have so far been quite enchanted. I tried reading it when I was thirteen, but I got bored for some reason. Am I ever glad that I decided to pick it up again!

>13 ErisofDiscord: - I tried it at 13 as well and don't think I finished it. One of my best friends gave it to me as a gift. DH gave the print version to our oldest last month and in true form, said child ignored it for weeks then picked it up and couldn't put it down.

We're all enjoying the audio, but youngest had a hard time getting into it. I think b/c we have so much time spent learning about the world and the characters and some of us are impatient? Maybe why I didn't finish it as a tween, either.

Penn

I'm reading Day of the Predator, the second Time Riders book by Alex Scarrow. I'm really enjoying it. Time travel and dinosaurs - fun stuff. And I just picked up Crossed earlier today. I loved Matched, so I'm really looking forward to reading it next.

#15 - I can't wait for Crossed! Let me know how you liked it.

I've just finished Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. It's an enjoyable read!

#15 & 16,

My pre-order of Crossed is on its way. Hopefully it'll arrive soon.

I finished The Scorpio Races. Overall I enjoyed the book but I feel that her Wolves of Mercy Falls series is better. Sam and Grace are set in a more familiar world and are easier to connect with than the characters in The Scorpio Races. I think this is one of those books that can go either way - some people will like it and others won't.

It's funny how hard The Hobbit is to get into, isn't it? I started it as a teen, gave up, read it maybe a year or two later. Never tried Lord of the Rings until late in life, after the movies came out.
I read Black Swan Green over the weekend, which could be YA and was great, either way, and have started Fly Trap. (Hmm...British title seems to be Twilight Robbery. They are always re-naming Frances Hardinge's books over here.)

I just finished Tempest by Julie Cross which I won in the October ER and The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong. I enjoyed both and I am now reading Before I Go To Sleep which is not a YA book but I did just pick up Crossed from the library. :D Oh happy reading!

Still reading Darwen Arkwright. It's pretty slow and not as intriguing as I hoped.

Skulduggery Pleasant is wonderful so far though. I love that the young heroine is smart and brave and that Skulduggery doesn't treat her like a child. I'm always annoyed at a YA book when, even though the young main character is risking their life, going through grand and terrifying and magical adventures, they are still treated as a fragile child with no sense. Not the case here, and I like it a lot.

Got my Crossed book today! Yayyyy!!!!

And I just got a notice that my preorder of Ready Player One (pb) won't be released until June 2012! It was slated for late November. Bah! At least I've got a lot to read in the meantime.

24> silly question, but why don't you just get the hardcover version instead? It's on sale for $13.92 - only $2.72 more than the paperback. Or better yet, borrow it from the library for free!

I don't need it right away. And saving some $ isn't a bad thing. ;) On preorder the price typically drops to about $7 for a pb. The good thing is, if I find a hb copy at 1/2-Price in the meantime, I can cancel my preorder.

It makes me wonder though why they would push it back by six months.

I've got a lot of non-YA to get to in the next few weeks, so for a quick one I'm starting tonight on Breadcrumbs. I may go on to Wildwood right after that, but it's longer and I may have to do some other projects first.

I'm rereading Fire right now, which I love in some ways and only like in others. Love the world, but sometimes find the characters a wee bit irritating. (Though I wish I didn't.)

I also just requested Hush, Hush after reading a couple of quotes of snappy dialogue. I hope the rest of it is just as good.

I read The Girl of Fire and Thorns earlier this month, and really loved it. Fans of Tamora Pierce and Cinda Williams Chima should certainly keep an eye out for this book!

Right now, I'm doing some rereading -- Pat of Silver Bush and Mistress Pat by L.M. Montgomery. I was feeling a little burnt out on new reads (even particularly good ones), so this is sort of a rest for my brain.

I liked the guy in Hush, Hush, but the main girl was a little one demensional in my opinion. I'm tired of chicks who keep relying on their boyfriends to save them. I mean, yeah, I get the fact that girls are not as strong as boys, but we do have our wits about us all the time, and I wish that the heroines in books were more wittier.

Just me ranting, sorry!

29>> Thanks for mentioning that Pat of Silver Bush pair. I've only read the first two Anne of Green Gables and I'd like to get back to Montgomery, but right at the moment the rest of a long series is a bit too overwhelming.

@jmeyers: It's been a while since I've read Fire, but I remember clearly having a number of issues with the book. I especially didn't like Fire's original partner -- he seemed like the biggest hypocrite and more than a little possessive.

I've started the second book in the Skinjacker Trilogy Everwild by Neal Shusterman. I was enthralled with Everlost and just had to start Everwild. Now I have to see about getting
Everfound!

I love that series! I hope you like Everfound - I personally was very happy with how the series ended. I wish that series was more popular - it's something that hasn't been done before, the characters are well developed and the plot is original.

I could not pu it down! I bought the first two at last year's school book fair. Now I am lookin to buy
Everfound at a reasonable price. It is worth making the investment I believe my students will love it!

I've been so busy I've hardly spared a glance to LT at all, but I just HAD to share this with you guys:

- I HATED The Death Cure. I'm so happy the series is over.
- Finally, I found a copy of Keeping the Moon. Liked it.
- I LOVED The Book Thief. So good! 100% recommended.
- I won and read La Cienega Just Smiled; I'm working on the review, on and off. It's... um... full of foreboding.
- I'm reading Blood Red Road right now, and Eeh-My-Itching-Gut, it's sooo good! I'm loving it.

Good to see you back, girlfromshangrila! I'm glad you liked Keeping the Moon, and particularly glad you loved The Book Thief. The latter is just a terrific book.

I've been hearing nothing but good things here about Blood Red Road.

>37 jnwelch:: Hey @jnwelch! I owe you a PM. Working on it!

Man, I couldn't agree more about The Book Thief. I want every-freaking-body to read that book. I'm thinking of hanging a 20X20 sign by the bookstore, or something.

I bought Blood Red Road yesterday and I'm already by page 300-something. I'm loving the unique writing style, and hoping the sequel(s?) can keep up with this one. Oh, and I'm praying it doesn't end on a cliffhanger, please oh please. ;-)

38> Don't worry . . . although the ending definitely points the way to the sequel, there's enough closure to satisfy.

I just finished reading Rainbow Boys and I discovered I liked reading it more than I thought I would.

I stayed up until 2:30 this morning reading The Scorpio Races and it was well worth how crummy and tired I feel now. I think Maggie Stiefvater knocked it out of the ballpark with this one (and thank goodness for getting to read about a mythological creature that is neither a vampire or a werewolf).

>39 BookLizard:: Oh thank you, thank you so much! It's good to know that. =)

41 - I'm going to be getting that book day - I can't wait to read it! I've had it with vampires and werewolves.

>40 bpinson:, I really enjoyed Rainbow Boys as well as both the sequels. You should definitely give them a go, as well.

I've put aside the House of Night books for a while (I've gotten through the first three) and am now reading Shut Out by Kody Keplinger. I absolutely loved her first novel, and although I don't love this one quite as much, I'm still REALLY enjoying it. Like The Duff, it's definitely for older teens.

I got NightShade for my birthday, read it in three days, and just got Wolfsbane. I love it! Going to be finished pretty soon.

Finally finished Darwen Arkwright. It was cute, definitely for a young reader crowd, just not as intriguing as I was hoping.

Now started The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making which is quirky from page one.

I started an old-timey one, A Little Princess, and am really enjoying it.

Oooh, I've heard good things (and from this thread alone, WONDERFULLY SENSATIONAL sweets) about The Book Thief that it's now on my 'To Read' list next. Thanks for singing this book's praises everyone!

I've been reading Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool and just finished it today. It's a fantastic book! Loved it, loved it, and supremely adored the writing in this Newbery award winner. Above all else, I felt much like a candy dipped in sugar drinking up the stories in this book. Okie dokie, I'm onto my next read!

#30 I picked up Hush, Hush yesterday and read the first chapter last night, and I'm underwhelmed. But I'll keep reading--at least for a bit--to see if it gets better.

#32 Yeah, I'm really not crazy about some of the characters in Fire and honestly Fire grates on my herself at times. And yet, I love the world and premise of the story, and love the way Kristin Cashore writes.

#46 LOVE the title of The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making and the fact that it's quirky. I'm going to have to see if my library has that! (In fact I'm going to go do that right now.)

Just started A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.

Started The Hollow by Jessica Verday.

I'm reading Terrier by Tamora Pierce. I'm enjoying it, but am not convinced that Beka would have the energy to write such long, articulate journal entries after a long shift on the streets. But I love the descriptions of the breads and pastries she buys - I was getting so hungry reading this book last night!

A Little Princess was a pleasure, a great old-fashioned read.

@strandedon8jo: A Monster Calls broke my heart (but in a good way, if that's possible). Not gonna lie, it made me cry a bit. Such a good book!

I read You Are My Only over the weekend. Very well-written. Style isn't always paramount in YA so I really enjoyed that aspect of it. Very moving, also. I did think the neighbor's family was a little too good to be true, though. (I mean, if I were going to recommend Willa Cather to a teen it would be My Antonia or The Song of the Lark, which actually have teen protagonists, not Death Comes for the Archbishop.)

52 @Sakerfalcon

I agree, I don't really buy it as a journal. So I just read it like it's a first-person novel and it works just fine :)

I am reading Perfect by Hopkins and will start Crossed by Condie as soon as I finish Hopkins' book. I hope both books live up to the other titles by these authors.

I am reading Far North by Will Hobbs and The Disreptutable History of Frankie Landau-Bands by E. Lockhart

Cailiosa: Heartbreaking is certainly the word for A Monster Calls I, too, had a little cry (it probably didn't help that I lost my mother to cancer a little less than two years ago). A beautiful story all round.

Up next will probably be Every You, Every Me by David Levithan.

Finished Blood Red Road, which I liked.

I am now reading Across The Universe.

I finished The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen last night and I quite liked it. There were times when I felt like she was trying too hard to get The Message across to her readers, but I loved the characters so much and I loved that they made me laugh out loud with them throughout the book, that I was willing to overlook that slight flaw.

I just (literally) picked up Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone and it's already got me sucked in. The prose is gorgeous. I've heard so many people rave about this one and I can see why.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone looks good.

I started Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink, a Newberry winner set in Wisconsin in the late 1800s.

Started Silence, the conclusion to the trilogy by Becca Fitzpatrick. More than a little melodramatic, but I'm not surprised by that, and I just want to know how the story arc resolves.

#62 - I think I'm going to read Daughter of Smoke and Bone; one of the LT reviewers said that it reminded them of Pan's Labyrinth and since I loved that movie (even though it creeped me out a bit), I think I will give this book a try.

>61 Cailiosa:: The Truth About Forever is one of my favorites by Sarah Dessen. I loved the side characters, especially quirky Kristy, who sort of reminds me of myself at that age. XD

Have you read any others by Dessen, @Cailiosa?

>65 girlfromshangrila:: Kristy made me laugh so hard and Bert was just precious. Seriously, who wouldn't want to drive an ambulance with a loveseat in the back? I'm so very glad that I have never met anyone like Jason before (are there really people out there as uptight as him?) and I'm glad the ladies that I work with at the public library are nothing like the girls that Macy worked with at the info desk.

I think the only other Dessen book I've read is Along for the Ride, which I liked quite a bit, but not quite as much as The Truth About Forever. Auden and Eli are not quite as sa-woon worthy as Macy and Wes, but it's been a while since I've read it, so I might be mistaken.

>66 Cailiosa:: Sa-woon worthy indeed! LOL
No, I think Wes is by far the most palatable of all Dessen's... 'heroes', for lack of a better word.

I really liked her latest, What Happened to Goodbye. In it, you get to see glimpses of Jason Talbot, post-Macy. And the writing style is much better, richer and with a better flow. There are quirky side characters aplenty, too. ;-) You should give it a try.

Edit: As a side note, YES, there are guys like Jason out there in the real world. I should know: I dated one for the longest time...

Finished Across the Universe. 'Twas OK.

Now I think I'm going to re-read The Truth About Forever again. ;)

Edit: Something's wrong with the touchstones...

>68 girlfromshangrila:: Those were kind of my thoughts on Across the Universe. There were some parts I thought were done well, but the whole mystery was fairly obvious. I'm hoping the sequel is an improvement over this one.

I want to re-read The Truth About Forever, too, now. Do I read it before or after Just Listen, which I just checked out? Such a tough choice.

You already checked out Just Listen? So... there's no point on me trying to talk you out of reading it? Bummer...

I've been re-reading (listening to, actually) The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series in preparation for catching up with the girls as adults in Sisterhood Everlasting. Am about halfway through the third book. I've been finding these audiobooks great accompaniments to my morning walks.

"The Grand Sophy" by Georgette Heyer. A good read. "Lady of Quality" by the same... not so good.

If I hadn't already read "Tyger Tyger" by Kersten Hamilton several times I would get the e-version: I saw on twitter that it is on sale for $2.99 for just two weeks!

Next I want to read the Iron Knight by Julia Kagawa.

72> Thanks for the heads-up, Megwi. I just downloaded Tyger Tyger to my Kindle. Not something I'd normally have bought, but at $2.69 (not $2.99, at least for Kindle) on a limited-time offer.... Oh well.

>72 Megwi:: The grand Sophy is one of my all-time favourite books, and a regular comfort read!

>70 girlfromshangrila:: I wish I had seen your message before I read Just Listen. That was . . . not my favorite book. The plotline was a tired one, and I could predict what would happen well in advance. It was a slow-going book, too, because Dessen kept going back to these long-winded backstories.

And what was up with Owen's musical choices. He ragged on pop crap (though I agree with him there) and claimed to be all enlightened, but then he goes and listens to crickets chirping and techno? Dude was a hipster.

Which are the best Sarah Dessen books, so I can avoid ones like this again?

>75 Cailiosa:: I'm sorry to hear you didn't like Just Listen. In a way, it seemed like a rip-off of every YA book Laurie Halse Anderson has ever written (as if ripping off just one wasn't enough). She just kept adding more and more complications, each one as flavorless as the other. Meh.

Other than Just Listen and Along for the Ride, I didn't love Someone Like You (bland, bland, bland), nor Dreamland (predictable and whiny -lame attempt at 'sordid'), although both have redeeming features...

All her other books are quite alright, though. I particularly liked What Happened to Goodbye, as I said earlier.
EDIT: I think this one shows how Dessen has evolved as a writer. She uses an interesting tecnique that I'd LOVE to discuss with someone, anyone, so please do me a favor and read it. For me. Now.

Keeping the Moon is OK, and pretty short, so it just flies by.

This Lullaby is fine, particularly Dexter, the male lead: hands down, the most fun guy in all of the Dessen canon. Which is saying something.

Lock and Key is good, in the sense that Ruby, the main character, is one of the few who isn't identical to all other Dessen main characters. She's still an introvert with family issues, though... And I liked getting glimpses of places and people mentioned in other books.

And That Summer is nice, since the main character is younger than Dessen's usuals. It gets repetitive and preachy, though, but then that's Dessen's style anyhow. ;-)

Hope that helps!

>Yes! As I read, I kept thinking this book seemed eerily similar to Speak, but not as well done. It seemed like she kept including more and more YA cliches as she went along:

Mean best friend? Check.
Boys doing not nice things to girls at a party? Check.
Eating disorder, family drama, and mysterious loner dude? Check, check, and check!

I will have to check out What Happened to Goodbye and give you someone to discuss it with, and I'll give This Lullaby a go as well, since I got to meet Remy and Dexter in Just Listen. Thanks for your help!



And thanks for the heads up with the Tyger Tyger Kindle edition sale -- I've had this book on my TBR list for a while now, but my library still hasn't gotten it in. This gives me the excuse to finally read it.

I just finished Forbidden... Took me just an afternoon because the story was intense and the writing smooth, but I'm not sure what to think of the ending. I was disappointed and yet I can't think of any other realistic ending for that story.

I'm now reading on kindle The Strange Case of Finley Jayne which is the short prequel to The Girl in the Steel Corset. And in pb, Libyrinth which has an intriguing premise, but at just about 50 pages in, I'm already tired of reading the word "Libyrarian". My brain stutters on that spelling, which gives me a headache.

Blood Red Road by Moira Young was good. I liked the stubborn and tough central character Saba, who battles her way in a wrecked world, trying to save her twin brother.

I just finished The Radleys. I don't normally like vampire books, but this one was wonderful...

I finished No Way Out by Paul Langan, part of the Bluford Hifh Series. It good series for reluctant readers.

Finally getting around to reading Lemony Snicket. I have The Complete Wreck (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Books 1-13) as a complete hard-cover boxed set that I got some years ago with a very substantial discount slip either at Borders or B&N. I just finished the first two books this evening.

>78 UnrulySun:: I was disappointed with Libyrinth; I really thought I would love it based on the premise but it ended up frustrating me. And I agree about how annoying the word "libyrarian" is to read!

I'm about three quaters of theway through All These Things I've Done and am enjoying it.

Saker, that's not encouraging! I actually haven't picked it up in two days, and I'm not sure I'll finish it.

And while Finley Jayne is setting up an interesting story, the writing is so amateurish it's painful. I read good reviews here about The Girl in the Steel Corset but if it's written the same way I will have to pass. Maybe she wrote the prequel hastily but the choppiness and awkward construction are not enticing me to pick up the rest of her work.

I've read: Shatter Me, Matched, Ghost Huntress, and now I'm reading City of Bones (Mortal Instruments)

I read Birthmarked a few days ago and have just picked up Prized from the library. I love when I come to a series late and get the read the next book straight after.
: )

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer , Shatter Me, and Crossed. I want to read The Future of Us.

I really want to start the Hunger Games soon, and then the third installation of The Wolves of Mercy Falls, Forever! I'm also reading Morganville Vampires Series #5, and City of Fallen Angels!

I've just started Ultraviolet; it's very interesting to read from the point of view of a narrator with synaesthesia.

I've read a couple of amazing books here lately. I just finished The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer last night (I read it in one sitting, that's how good it was). It made me laugh, it scared the bejeebus out of me and I'm pretty sure it had a reference to Trogdor in it. What more could a girl want? The sequel, that's what. I didn't know going into it that it wasn't a stand-alone novel, so I was more than a bit upset and surprised when I reached the end and discovered that I was being left with a major cliff-hanger.

I also really enjoyed Shatter Me. The prose was very poetic, though it had the tendency to get a little cheesy at times, and both of the main characters likeable. I want to be able to say that the concept behind the novel was unique, but it's not quite so -- just not one I've read about before in a young adult novel (I don't want to give too much of the plot away, but I think if you read the book, you'll see what I mean). Still, it's an interesting premise and I'm quite looking forward to the next installment in the series/trilogy/whatever it will become.

Mara Dyer sounnds fascinating; another one to look out for.

I'm about halfway through Switched by Amanda Hocking. I'ts reading like a paranormal take-off of The Princess Diaries.

I am starting Mockingjay right now!! Just finished Catching Fire about 15 minutes ago. Can't stop reading .... must find out what 's next!

I just got dont with book 1 of The House of Night Series (Marked) now i am starting on the 2cd book, Betrayed