What are you reading February 2012

I've just started Blood Red Road. It has to be back at the library on Friday so I hope it is a quick read!

1> I couldn't put it down. I hope you like it!

I'm rereading The Lives of Christopher Chant.

Half way through Daughter of Smoke & Bone. Good, but I've hit a slow spot.

Just started My Blood Approves last night. Still waiting to see what the fuss is all about.

Am reading The Mephisto Covenant by Trinity Faegen and enjoying it. Our social circles overlap in more than one place and while I wouldn't say that we're close friends, I think we're both happy to see each other when we do. So I'm very glad that I'm liking the book because I like her smile and wouldn't want to put a frown on her face!

The kids and I just finished listening to Into the Land of the Unicorns by Bruce Coville and have started The Kite Rider by Geraldine McCaughrean. I wish that I had liked Unicorns better, but it wasn't bad.

Penn

I've just started (and I'm just a short chapter into) The Mighty Miss Malone, having recently finished Bud, Not Buddy (great book, but my own liking is more for strong girl characters, so I'm a lot more interested in Deza Malone).

I've just started Jennifer Echols' Love Story - I really like college-age YA. The two main characters both feel complicated and real - and I like both the romance novel-writing heroine (despite her abrasiveness) and the creative-writing class setting.

I'm reading Cinder. Really enjoying it.

I finished The Name of the Star and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. It was a fun fast read with a good heroine. I am now finishing up a romance novel that is due back tomorrow so that I can start Incarceron.

I liked both Blood Red Road and Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Cinder was really good, and now I'm on Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

I forgot to report that I finished Blood red road and got it back to the library on time! It was a good read, Saba was an awesome heroine and narrator, and I loved that there were so many strong women in the book. Emmi might have been my favourite character; I love how she grows in confidence to prove Saba wrong in her belief that Emmi is a useless burden. I wasn't wowed by Jack, he didn't really add anything to the story for me. And the heartstone seemed out of place in an otherwise non-magical world. But still, it's a good one - if you haven't read it yet, then do so!

almost finished with flowers for algernon

I am starting City of Fallen Angels tonight. Very excited!

I just finished My Lunatic Life by Sharon Sala

Read Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken, which I found underwhelming and amateurish. I think the author may have potential, though--I'd probably read a follow-up to see if she's improved.

I just started Rival Demons by Sarra Cannon

I'm attempting to read all of the books that are contenders for the School Library Journal's Battle of the Kids Books and my first was Inside Out & Back Again, which I quite liked.
Normally, I don't read much middle grade stuff, I'm not a huge fan of novels in verse, and the Vietnam war period doesn't really have much of a draw for me, but this was good. If you are looking for a book that shows what the immigration experience is like for a child (or anyone, really), definitely give this one a go.

I attempted to read The Uninvited by Tim Wynne Jones, but the weird character names got in the way. Is that shallow of me? Probably, but I just couldn't help being distracted by people with names like Cramer (made me think of that guy from Seinfield, which is not a good thing for me) and Stooley.

That left me in a bit of a reading rut, but then I found out that my copy of Graffiti Moon will arrive tomorrow, a book that I've been wanting to read for forever and a half, but it hadn't yet been released outside of Australia. I just wish the Australian cover had been kept for the U.S. version, but beggars can't be choosers.

Reading Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Hard to put down.

Started Possessed by Kate Cann, which is off to a good start--strong writing and character development, and an intriguing story.

Just started Catching Fire, book two of the Hunger Games trilogy. Off to a good start!

Just finished (in a quick-read on my Kindle) The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling and loved it. I saw one Amazon reader called it "Lemony Snicket meets Jane Eyre."

I just finished Lola and the Boy Next Door and up next is Across the Universe.

And now I just finished The Mighty Miss Malone, giving it four ****, although I gave Bud, Not Buddy four-and-a-half even though I much prefer "strong girl" stories. I think my problem with The Mighty Miss Malone is that, although I easily fell in love with Deza Malone, I found her just a little bit too good to be true. Still, I strongly recommend it.

And note that, although Deza Malone appeared as a character in Bud, Not Buddy, she was only a "one-page character" in the earlier book and the link between the books is thin practically to the point of nonexistence. I say that in a good sense, meaning that you can read either or both of these books, as you choose; and if you want to read them both, you can read them in either order.

I started and finished Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley today and it was wonderful. I loved not only Ed and Lucy, but all of the supporting characters as well. I couldn't recommend this book more highly.

Read The Entertainer and the Dybbuk by Sid Fleischman yesterday afternoon. Amazing book. Immediate post-WWII Germany. An American ex-pat ventriloquist finds himself befriended and sometimes possessed by a young Jewish dybbuk.

A dybbuk is a ghost or spirit that attaches itself to a living person in order to fulfill something left undone in life. This particular little spirit isn't sure about his mission, but knows it is connected to his short life, his months hiding from the Nazis and his murder by a certain Nazi colonel.

The story is by turns tragic, suspenseful, and funny. That particular brand of Jewish humor in the face of disaster is well handled. The story is intense and unforgettable, but accessible for teen readers. I recommend this very short little book with all my heart.

I'm trying to catch up on my TBR pile this month, and I'm starting with the YA books. My favourite so far has been The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. It is a beautifully written book, full of laughter and tears, with wonderfully engaging characters. I was also impressed with Phoenix Rising by Karen Hesse. Very thought provoking.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs stands out as a work of art and atmosphere, but I wasn't overly impressed with the characters or plot. I found The City of Ember and The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau good, but not special.

I tried to read How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier, but found the made up words too irritating. I also tried Chicks With Sticks: Knit Two Together by Elizabeth Lenhard, but the less said about that, the better.

I just finished Fairy Metal Thunder by J.L. Bryan. The story felt rushed and I would have liked more characterization.

I'm reading The Tripods trilogy, in tribute to John Christopher who died recently. I had to read the first book in secondary school, before I appreciated SF, and have to say I am enjoying it a lot more this time around. It is very much of its time though (60s) in lacking female characters. But the aliens are truly alien and the plot is gripping and fast moving.

@Sakerfalcon: I remember reading those books in fourth or fifth grade for language arts. I might have to revisit them myself.

Just finished the Moon Spell,River Cast,Blood Solstice by Samantha Young. I hadn't read anything by Young before and was pleasantly surprised.

Oh, it's fantastic! I loved it, I know this is a bit late but I hope you really liked it :o (in reply to Blood Red road)

I'm reading Dreamless by Josephine Angelini and having a hard time putting it down!

I read Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen which I thought was fantastic, Wings of the Wicked which was pretty good, Bewitching by Alex Flinn which I loved and Struck by Jennifer Bosworth, another good book.
Vamplayer by Rusty Fischer which I loved, Verity by Claire Farrell-same thing, Still Waters by Emma Carlson Berne which I can't say the same for, Anew by Chelsea Fine-good book!

I can't think of anymore off hand...

Thanks for the book recommendations!

Just finished the Moon Spell,River Cast,Blood Solstice by Samantha Young. I hadn't read anything by Young before and was pleasantly surprised.

I've read everything by Samantha Young and haven't been disappointed yet :o She has a few more series out: Slumber (The Fade) and Blood Will Tell (Warriors of Ankh series), Fire Spirits Series and Drip, Drop Tear Drop which is free on Amazon right now. It's a novella to the first book, This Weeping Frost. LOL, I guess I'm a bit of a fan of hers-I think she's incredibly talented.

I hope you keep reading and liking her work!

I need to figure out how to add links in the messages. Sorry for just throwing the books out there without providing links :o(

I'll get it figured out!

@Kristi_TheBookFaery -- all you have to do is put one set of brackets around the titles and two sets of brackets around an author. So if I wanted to do a touchstone for The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, it would look like this (but with brackets instead of parentheses): (The Scorpio Races) by ((Maggie Stiefvater)).

Last night I finished All These Things I’ve Done by Gabrielle Zevin, which was a bit meh. There was a lot of telling vs. showing and I just couldn't bring myself to care for any of the characters. A bit disappointing, that one.

I also finished Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick, which was a lovely, lovely book. The drawings were incredible, as per usual with Selznick, it was nice to see a book with several deaf characters, and it was a treat seeing how two storylines occurring 50 years apart came together. Bonus factor: museum with an exhibit featuring cabinets of wonder, which I just read about in The Cabinet of Wonders: The Kronos Chronicles Book 1.

I think I'll tackle The Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhardt next, along with Amelia Lost (which is not that big of a book, but non-fiction takes me so long to plow through -- I'm just not that big a fan of it. This one is better than most, though; I will give it that.

Just finished Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. Wow! Fantastic book! It lived up to the recommendations and reviews I'd seen. I highly recommend it!

Wolves of Willoughby Chase. So far I like it.

>37 Cailiosa: Sorry to hear the Gabrielle Zevin was meh, Jenn. I really liked Elsewhere. I thought Wonderstruck was excellent, too.

>39 jnwelch:

I really like The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and the next few books in the series. The characters are wonderfully quirky. My favourite is the second, Black Hearts in Battersea.

22: I really liked Incorrigible Children, and have the second one on my shelf and the third on its way to me (it's released just this month). I enjoy quirky stuff like that. It's the small bits of wry humor that got me, things that some people would just pass over. Like Mr Alpo the horse retirer. Ha!

Right now I'm about to start on The Wretched of Muirwood.

I've just started Forget-Her-Nots by Amy Brecount White - about a girl with an affinity for flowers and the Victorian language of flowers. I've always been interested in the topic, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this one develops.

>39 jnwelch:: Another fan here of The wolves of Willoughby Chase and its sequels. I wrote about this series as part of my MA thesis, which was when I read the later books for the first time.

I finished The tripods trilogy, which was a fast, enjoyable read with plenty of tense and disturbing moments. It is very much of its time though (mid C20th) with very few female characters (actually none after the first book), and a lack of emotional depth to the characters. But they do grow and change during the events of the books, and the vision of earth under the aliens' rule is vivid and eerie. I found the middle book, most of which takes place in the alien city, to be the best of the three. IMO, the good stuff outweighs the flaws.

>>40 SylviaC:, 43 Thanks, Sylvia and Claire. I had no idea there were sequels. I'm really enjoying The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, so I expect I'll track down the ones that come after.

41> I just finished Book II (The Hidden Gallery), which may not be quite up to Book I (maybe just a slight mid-series slump) but is still quite good. I've got the third book on pre-order from B&N, and it says that it's going to be out March 27. The Hidden Gallery does start going into some hints about the children's and Penelope's backgrounds. One thing I'm hoping, though, is that the whole series gets wrapped up a little more quickly than Lemony Snicket, which I thought got awfully tedious for much of mid-series.

You made me go look, and sure enough, they've pushed the release date back by a month. No worries for me though, I still have #2 to read. :)

I noticed a couple of others have been pushed back as well, the pb versions of books already out. Seems to happen quite a lot.

A Lesson Before Dying and The Hunger Games

I just finished Virals. I wasn't expecting to like it, as I assumed it be just another werewolf book. However, I really enjoyed it. I recommend it to fans of Maximum Ride.

I just finished City of Fallen Angels and talk about a cliff hanger! Eek! I'm reading Torment on my Kindle at the gym and so far so good. :) Happy Thursday!

I just read Anna Dressed in Blood, and loved it!

I jsut started Graceling tonight and I am hooked!

I just finished Cinder. So good! I think I am going to pick up another Sarah Dessen next.

About halfway through Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Lovely, and really clever.

Just read Shiver and Linger and am now reading Forever, I am really enjoying this series

Just started listening to the first book in The Morganville Vampire series...

Just downloaded Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception (Gathering of Faerie) by Maggie Stiefvater to my Kindle. I don't know this author, and one blurb said it would be appealing to fans of Twilight, which gave me pause. But the reviews made it sound good, and the price (99 cents) was unbeatable. Just as long as it doesn't have any sparkly vampires in it...

Just finished reading:
Daddy-long-Legs by Jean Webster. Great contemporary epistolary story!

Touchstone elf: Daddy-Long-Legs

One of my favorite books in the whole world!!

Just finished the first book of the hunger games trilogy.. finished the book in less then two days.. great book but not the best book i've read as some people might say.. but, still exited to read the next one!

>58 MerryMary:: Mine too!

@Storeetllr: Forget the comparisons to Twilight; Maggie Stiefvater is a much better writer than Stephanie Meyer (IMHO). If you enjoy Lament, do give The Scorpio Races a go -- I think it's her best work to date.

What did you think? Curious about this one too.

56: I picked up Lament on the kindle deal also! I have read Shiver and The Scorpio Races and while her werewolves books are well-written but superficial, The Scorpio Races was a near masterwork. I am curious to see how this one will be, since it's some of her first work.

61 and 63 ~ Thanks for the tip on Scorpio Races! I'm putting it on my Wishlist.

Reply to 9. I just finished Cinder the other day and I really liked it as well. I've been following that author since ever since she started writing fanfiction, what seems like 8 or 9 years ago....though it may not actually have been that long XD. I can't wait for the next book in the series. I believe it's about Little Red Riding Hood I think. She's also putting up signed copies of her books on her livejournal.com page to raise money for her best friend who has cancer. You should check her out :)

57,58>> I really like Webster's Dear Enemy, but Daddy-Long-Legs creeps me out. Jervis comes off like a stalker. And there's a university English professor (woman) at my church who's also creeped out, so I'm not alone. On the other hand, Elaine Showalter wrote a very complimentary intro to the Penguin two-in-one edition of both books, so mileage varies.

And awrrr, ding-a-ling. I just checked out the Amazon page. I'd previously read Showalter's intro for free on the "Look Inside" feature without having to buy the Penguin since both books are available electronically in public domain. I guess Amazon caught on, so now the Showalter intro's blocked and you just get the first pages of the books, so you'll have to buy the Penguin (or browse it in a brick-and-mortar) to get the intro.