February-- What are you reading?

Short month, gotta get those books in!

I just started Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life which has been on my TBR pile for quite a while now. I love Wendy Mass and am really enjoying this one so far. She writes such creative and bright characters. I always feel like they are going to pop off the page and come to life!

I just finished reading the galley of The Titan's Curse, book 3 of "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" (pardon me while I gloat). I found it to be better than Sea of Monsters (the second book in the series), with lots of action and surprising plot twists. According to the cover, it comes out in May -- something for everyone to look forward to before the big HP7 release in July.

I'm starting Ill Wind by Rachel Caine today and hope to start Sorcery and Cecelia after that.

I am most definately looking forward to Harry Potter as well!!!

For the first time, I'm reading the Earthsea books by Ursula K. le Guin. I finished A Wizard of Earthsea at the end of last month, The Tombs of Atuan yesterday, and I'm reading The Farthest Shore now.

I'm hoping to finish up Sorcery and Cecelia in the next few days. Then I'll probably go straight into The Giver, Messenger, and Gathering Blue. Despite being short, this should be a good reading month - I have a break coming up in a couple of weeks! I probably won't be reading much YA other than the ones I already mentioned, though.

I've been having a lot of trouble with touchstones not loading lately. Yet again, I'm forced to give up on half of them.

_Zoe_ - I've noticed that if you post, then edit your post, the touchstones then load. Weird, but true (for me, at any rate).

My frustration is with the right touchstones not being available. I want to touchstone books such as Sunshine by Robin McKinley and Earth by David Brin, and the words are too common all of a sudden - last week I could do it, but this week, they're not even on the list of 250 options.

Hey, it did work! I have the same problem with common words, though--I don't think the right Messenger is on the list of 230 possibilities. Argh.

Yeah. It took me a few tries to find the right Lint when I wanted it, because the other 96 things listed are by Charles de Lint. Huh? It's the title touchstone, not author! Touchstones are a great idea, but frustrating as heck when they go wrong.

On the last couple of days of January, I finished reading The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin. It was an amazing novel. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. I read two more Margaret Peterson Haddix books: Escape From Memory and Running Out of Time. Starting in February, I listened to audiobooks of Because of Winn Dixie, Gossamer, and The Giver. I read Gathering Blue and The Messenger. Overall, I thought the series was great. I read Double Helix by Nancy Werlin. In nonfiction, I read Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 On the Moon.

The Giver is probably my favorite YA novel; if not, it's way up there. I love the trilogy in general, but The Giver is by far the best of the three.

I have bought a ton of YA books within the past 3-4 months (nearly all suggestions from these boards) and I really need to make a TBR pile. A lot of times I get books from the library and then feel like I need to read those first because they are due, whereas the books I own I can read anytime. That's why I buy a book and don't get around to reading if for months after I've purchased it.

On my short list is The Book Thief. Bought it a while back (again, because of the boards) and need to pick it up.

I just started a graphic novel called Runaways by Brian K. Vaughan and I am totally loving it. It is about this group of teenagers that discover that their parents are supervillains and decide to run away and try to stop them. Along the way, they are discovering that they each have superpowers of their own. I got a book that compiles the whole series from the library this morning.

Right now I've just finished So Yesterday, which was pretty good, not up to Uglies or Peeps but an intriguing concept for a book. Now I'm waiting for The Last Days to come to the library near me, so I might reread The Giver as it's next month's discussion topic.

What did you think of Running Out of Time, blbooks? That's always been a personal favourite of mine... Escape From Memory was a bit too weird for me when I read it, but I'm always compelled to read anything by Haddix because I liked Running out of Time so much! If you haven't read it, I recommend her "Turnabout", (which for some reason I can't find the touchstone to, and it seems to have destroyed my touchstones in general)...

I started Rules, by Cynthia Lord last night. Finally closing in on all those award-winners... ;)

Kira

I enjoyed Running Out of Time. I did. Having just discovered this author about two or three weeks ago at most, I am now hungry to devour anything and everything by this author. I read Turnabout as well. I liked it. It really made me think. All of her books make me think. Escape From Memory was slightly odd. I couldn't quite figure out how they hooked up brains to computers and transferred things back and forth. But the emotion behind choosing to do what would be best for the world or the public vs. protecting the life of your own mother...that worked for me. Still not going to make the book a favorite though.
So far I've read six of the seven Shadow Children books (I'm waiting for my copy of Among the Free to get here), Turnabout, Just Ella, Escape From Memory, and Running Out of Time. Any others by Haddix that you'd consider must reads or favorites?

I've finished The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer and Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer so far this month. I'm currently reading The Princetta by Anne-Laure Bondoux and The Adventures and the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Your list covers the best of them, blbooks :) Those shadow children books are addictive... The only other one I would recommend would be Double Identity, but I'm not sure if that one is widely available, because I have an ARC of it from last year, and I notice its social data on LT has it tagged as arc a lot too...

It is such a coincidence, Kira, I just made my second library run of the week and was able to pick up Double Identity! I didn't know that half of her books were filed in 'juvenile' and half in teen. (I'll post again when I've read more books). Anyway, I think I've about exhausted the local library! I guess I'll have to start watching Amazon for used copies of her books.

araKnid, I loved Bloody Jack! I keep meaning to find the newest one in the series, I think there's been one released since I read them.

I just finished Fly by Night. Now, on to Sorcery and Cecelia for the online discussion here, The Thief for my teen book club, and if I have time, my brother has loaned me I Am The Messenger.

Just finished How I Live Now and really, really didn't like it. I was excited about this one, and had read many positive reviews but I couldn't even finish it (I skimmed the ending). I hated so many aspects of this book starting with the way it gleams over the incest and eating disorder and ending with the jumpy and inconsistent timeline. I hated the narration- it's jumpy and disjointed. I also could care less about any of the characters; they were written so flat and one dimensional. I had a hard time placing the time period of this book as the setting wasn't made clear. At times it felt futuristic, at times I felt I was back in the 1800s (especially with the castle and cousin lovin). Really wish I would have skipped this one.

I'm about 20 pages into Eggs, by Jerry Spinelli. Not sure how I feel about it yet. A little startling in some spots.

Foggidawn -- how did you like Fly By Night? I saw it at a bookstore and was intrigued by the few pages I read, but when I checked the audiobook out of the library it just didn't hold my interest. I wonder if it's one of those books that works better in print than on tape?

sarahelizabethii, Fly By Night was all right -- it's not going on any hypothetical list of "favorites" that I might keep, nor will I buy it (having read a library copy). It reminded me of The Secret of Castle Cant, another one where I kind of went "ehh." It (Fly By Night) might have been better if it had been edited down a bit; I felt like the ending, particularly, was too drawn out. Having said all that, it was still a pretty decent story. As to whether it would work better in print than on audio, I really can't say, except that maybe the way the action is drawn out is even more obvious on audio.

I am almost finished with The Book Thief and will be starting An Abundance of Katherines next. I'm also looking forward to rereading The Giver.

I have a couple more that are next in my to be read stack that are not YA - A Canticle for Leibowitz and We Need to talk about Kevin.

I read the Book Thief last October or November. I really liked it. It was a slow read though. Perhaps because of the subject matter. But I just finished listening to The Book Thief. It was a great listen. Death never sounded so good! It's definitely one of the better audiobooks I've ever heard.

About Fly by Night. I rarely give up on books. I like to give every book a chance. But Fly By Night was one that I just couldn't get into. I got maybe a hundred pages into...maybe just 80 or 90...but I couldn't make myself finish it. Yet I kept seeing this book pop up on best lists....maybe you just have to be in the right frame of mind to get into it.

#24 - It would help if I would read only one book at a time. I didn't have much time at all to read yesterday, so I'm still reading The Book Thief. I am enjoying it very much.

I just finished The Beat Goes On which is about AIDS and am currently reading No Laughter Here which is about FGM.. I am in need of something YA and happy. Any suggestions?

As it turns out I may have found something YA and happy (at least so far).. I'm 75 pages into Confessions of a Closet Catholic, so far so funny..

>26 ShannonMDE: The Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (first book Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging) definately qualifies as a happy book. I have to make sure I'm nowhere public reading because I have a tendency to laugh outloud reading those books.

Here's a bit of what I've finished this past week or so. I read A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith. I reread The astonishing adventures of fanboy and goth girl by Barry Lyga. I read Something Remains by Inge Barth-Grozinger and The Last Days by Scott Westerfeld. I started Something Remains but after a few chapters I needed something to break it up. It was too intense. So I alternated between reading about vampires and Nazi Germany. Both books were good. I had absolutely loved Peeps which I read last fall. Right now I am about halfway through Laurie Halse Anderson's Fever, 1793. I think I'm going to end up liking it. It's good so far.

I also forgot to mention that I read Black Mirror by Nancy Werlin, Home and Other Big Fat Lies by Jill Wolfson, Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson, Penny From Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm, and The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
Rules by Cynthia Lord
Surrender by Sonya Hartnett

and now I've read all of this year's Newbery and Printz medalists and honors.

I also read Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird by Vivian Vande Velde, just for fun.

(Edited for clarity -- and now the touchstones work. Go figure.)

#30--Foggidawn--that is impressive. Have you been working on it a while... The Newbery and Printz medalist and honors. I don't think I can even say that just about the Printz! Way to go!

I am currently reading Sorcery & Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot and listening to Plainsong, but neither are moving quick enough for my taste. Just too many other things to do.

Started Sorcery and Cecelia today as well.

I'm about 100 pages into The Book Thief. Color me unimpressed so far.

re#31 -- SheReads

Let me amend my previous statement (I edited it up there, too) to say "this year's Newbery and Printz honors and medalists. Big oops! Sorry for the confusion!

It would indeed be neat to say that one had read all of them, though, wouldn't it? Maybe someday, when I'm not in grad school and overwhelmed with reading requirements, I'll do that.

(And, since I last posted, I finished listening to The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson, which I really enjoyed.)

Recently I've been reading speedily through the Confessions of a Shopaholic series and loving it. I read the first one as a break from exams in January, but last weekend I read through the second one within a day, it was so good. Now I got the fourth one from the library and spent all night reading it... (The third one was checked out, but with the fourth one in my hands, I couldn't be patient enough to read them in order). I haven't laughed so hard out loud at a book in a long time! My family was giving me strange looks....

The Star of Kazan does look interesting now that you mention it, foggidawn. My list of books I want to read just keeps growing the more posts I read on LT.... I've read Island Of The Aunts by Ibbotson and liked it. (Touchstones are loading too slowly for me to put them all in right now.)

#34 - I finished The Book Thief last week. It was certainly not what I expected; I was disappointed. I hope you enjoy it more than I did.

I just finished The Messenger and Man Vs Beast. I really liked the both of them. I just started The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing. It's okay, but a little hard to get into. Probably the language and stuff. It's interesting though.

# 20: I liked how it only gleamed over those things, because frankly I don't think the "incest" is wrong -- they're cousins, not brothers and sisters (in which case I would've found it a genetically bad choice, but not morally -- sorry). And the eating disorder? Well, it's a book about a lot more than an eating disorder. I wouldn't have wanted that to take up more of the narrative than it did. I quite loved this book.

As for what I'm reading right now, I'm re-reading Feed. Or rather, I'm listening to it. It's one of my favorites.

Just read Ida B and absolutely adored it!

Just finished The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick -- impressive artwork and a good tale. A unique book, certainly.

TBR pile includes The Higher Power of Lucky, Wildwood Dancing and Rules.

I LOVE The Invention of Hugo Cabret! We just had Brian Selznick for an autographing, and he's tremendously good. The research he did into Paris and film history, and how he connected all that into the story and pictures is fascinating. AND, he's one of the nicest guys on the planet. I really wanted to take him home and keep him as my pet author. ;)

I also liked Wildwood Dancing much better than I expected to. I'm not a big fantasy reader, but that one really worked well for me.

I'm currently reading a grown-up book by Gretchen Moran Laskas called The Midwife's Tale. So far, I'm liking it even better than her YA book, The Miner's Daughter.

I just finished reading Shug by Jenny Han. I loved it!

I liked Shug as well. I read it at the beginning of the summer.

I've been reading some romances and now I am trying to decide between reading Reality Chick or The Giver and re-reading Twilight.

After the last post I decided on Reality Chick. Considering I don't watch reality television and I'm not really into chick lit or contemporary stories I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this story. I thought it was pretty good, enough so that I read the whole book in one sitting.

I just read Elsewhere, by Gabrielle Zevin, and absolutely loved it. I also read the first two Alanna books by Tamora Pierce, and am sorry to say I didn't really care for them.

Re #46:

hydrangea, I didn't think that the Alanna books were Pierce's best writing. I actually picked up First Test and read that series, then went back and read her others, and found her earlier writing not as enjoyable as some of her newer stuff. So far, I think I've liked Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen best of her works.

Thanks for the insight, foggidawn! I was actually really disappointed that I didn't like the Alanna books, because Pierce has been recommended to me so many times-- I wanted to like her stuff! I'll try the titles you mentioned. :)

I agree that the Trickster books are some of her best (though I also loved Alanna--but I read those when I was 10). Be warned, though, that they sometimes refer to characters from the three previous series. I don't think it should matter too much, but I would at least try the first of the Daine books (Wild Magic) before moving on to First Test or Trickster's Choice.

I started Trickster's Choice but gave up about 1/3rd of the way through. I just couldn't get into the story. I think I will eventually try the first story about Alana to see if maybe it will spark an additional interest. When I picked up Trickster's Choice I didn't realize it was a continuation of a series.

Just finished Elsewhere, a truly magical, captivating book. Beautifully written story and characters. Everyone go read this NOW!

it's definitely on my wishlist, tunarubber! ;)

Just started Peeps today. It's my first Westerfeld book, and I'm LOVING it!

I'm about halfway through Prom Dates from Hell -- it's great fun! :)

I just finished A True and Faithful Narrative -- it was very good! I would definitely recommend it to fans of historical fiction.

Now I'm reading I Am The Messenger and listening to A Hat Full of Sky.

I've finished The Angel's Command and Voyage of Slaves by Brian Jacques, Sunshine by Robin McKinnley, Fire Storm by David Klass, and Sorcery and Cecelia and The Grand Tour by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. I'm currently reading The Mislaid Magician.

Starting The Giver today so I can catch up on the book of the month thread :-)

I came into the month with harry potter and the goblet of fire which I personally consider to be the weakest book in the series.I think it had to do with the overblown 'triwizard tournament'.

I also read the woman who rides like a man by tamora pierce which I belive gets a solid four.(loved it when Alanna finally came to her senses and ditched Jon)

Am now reading roll of thunder,hear my cry and enjoying it a great deal.

I'm now re-reading The Named by Marianne Curley. I read it the first time almost a year ago and I think I'm enjoying it even more this time around.

Black Duck by Janet Taylor Lisle, Julia's Kitchen by Brenda Ferber, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Tyrell by Coe Booth, The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, Fairest by Gail Carson Levine, Preacher's Boy by Katherine Paterson, The first book in the Midnighters series by Scott Westerfeld, Takeoffs and Landings by Margaret Peterson Haddix, Because of Anya and Double Identity (again by Haddix). And Rebel Angels by Libba Bray.

What did you think of Rebel Angels?

I loved it. I really, really loved it. I liked A Great and Terrible Beauty. But there was *no* great passion or enthusiasm on my part. I was blown away with Rebel Angels. I blogged about it a few days ago, if you want to have a look.

http://blbooks.blogspot.com/2007/03/rebel-angels-200th-post.html

Thanks for posting that link. I'm always curious about how people like that book, because I personally can't think of another book that I despised more (and I loved A Great and Terrible Beauty). It's interesting how tastes vary :)

I just started with my kids 'The Misadventures of Inspector Moustachio" by Wayne Madsen.

Now personally I liked Escape from Memory better than I do Running out of Time, but I only read Running Out of Time because I loved Escape From Memory

Has anyone read Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life? I love it!