Reading Recap -- May 2014

Hello, June! See you next year, May. You were a banner reading month.

1. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa → Book Based on a Myth
2. Fangbone! Third-Grade Barbarian by Michael Rex
3. The Egg of Misery by Michael Rex
4. The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong → Book with Magic
5. Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews → Book with a Mystery
6. Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton
7. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden → Book that became a Movie
8. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White → Book without a Love Triangle
9. Evermore by Alyson Noel → First Book in a Series
10. Futurama Adventures by Eric Rogers

Still haven't made a Bingo yet, though. How's your reading coming along?

Library Booksale Haul

I've gone to a few library booksales this year, and I've learned that they are a treasure trove for ladies lit. (my replacement term for chick lit.-- still not a great substitute, but I really dislike the term "chick lit."). I'm torn between loving and hating the fact that they're overwhelmingly pink.

• Sarah Dunant's The Birth of Venus
• Alexander McCall Smith's The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
• Fannie Flagg's Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man
• Ceclia Ahern's P.S. I Love You
• Sophie Kinsella's Confessions of a Shopaholic
• Janet Evanovich's One for the Money
• Joyce Carol Oates' Blonde

Not a bad haul for a buck a piece or less. Now if only I could read them as fast as I buy them...

Used Bookstore Spoils

This past weekend, I traded in some books at the used bookstore, and I came home with some lovely (and inexpensive) finds that have been begging to get crossed off my wish list for months now. Behold:

• L.M. Mongomery's The Story Girl
• Avi's The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
• Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted
• Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle
• Julie Kagawa's The Iron King
• Alyson Noel's Evermore

And don't they just look oh so pretty stacked together like that?

2014 Reading Progress Report: March

Over 3 months into 2014, and I've read 17 out of 50 books. I've accomplished  34% of my Reading Challenge, putting me at 5 books ahead of schedule. I've also marked off 7 spots on my Bingo Boards. Yeah!

1. Veronica Roth's Insurgent → Book Heard about Online
2. Shannon Hale's Austenland →  Book Set on a Different Continent
3. Steve Nile's Daughters of Fly in my Eye
4. Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist → Book Your Friend Loves
5. Deborah Harkness' A Discovery of Witches → Book with Non-Human Characters
6. Claudia Gray's Evernight → Book Set in High School
7. Jeaniene Frost's Up from the Grave → Book Published this Year
8. Keri Arthur's Darkness Unbound → Book at the Bottom of the TBR Pile  

I have to say-- I'm really proud of my progress. It feels like I'll hit 50 books in no time.

Incoming!

Picked up some new used books this weekend. They've been on my wish list for ages now.

• Annette Curtis Klause's Blood and Chocolate
• Claudia Gray's Evernight
• Diane Wynne Jones' Cart and Cwidder and Drowned Ammet
• Patrick Ness' The Knife of Never Letting Go
• Kelley Armstrong's The Summoning

• L.M. Montgomery's The Blue Castle
• L.M. Montgomery's Mistress Pat
• L.M. Montgomery's A Tangled Web
• Ann Rinaldi's A Break with Charity

Yes, I'm running out of shelf space, but that only drives me to be more creative with the way my books are stacked. As Tim Gunn might say, "Designers book lovers, make it work!"

Quick-and-Dirty September 2013 Wrap-Up

It's been a while since I've put my thoughts about the books I've read to paper screen. I don't have a reason as to why that is other than the fact that I just didn't feel like writing, which is a shame because most of the books I've read this year are greatly deserving of thorough analysis and praise. My month of September was filled with works of Young Adult Fantasy, and they are all very original in their own right.

 

• Garth Nix's Sabriel [read 9.14.13] 2/5 Stars
  My fellow GoodReaders gave this book fantastic reviews and ratings, so I had high hopes. A young necromancer goes on a quest to look for her missing father. Too bad this quest bored me to tears. The premise had such promise, but the pacing, the characterization, and the writing itself is just... poor. Such odd word choices and repetitive action scenes. Sadly, I wasn't a fan, and I won't be reading anything else by Nix.
  
• Shannon Hale's Princess Academy [read 9.15.13] 4/5 Stars
  Don't let the silly title of this book fool you-- it's such a breath of fresh air.  I can see why it won a Newbery Honor Award. It falls between children's and young adult lit., and the story is so original and sophisticated that I didn't want to put it down. A young mountain girl attends an academy to learn how to be a proper lady to contend for the heart of the prince. Miri shows such cleverness and strength of character; she's a perfect example of a strong heroine without being one-dimensional. Also, the magic and romance factors aren't forced. They're quite subtle actually, which is so important for the feeling of authenticity. There's a sequel to the book, and Hale also wrote Austenland, which I'd like to eventually read, so I'll keep an eye out for them at the used bookstore.
  
  
• Libba Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty [read 9.22.13] 3/5 Stars
  This book was recommended to me by several friends over the years, and it's been so hyped up to me that I suppose it was only doomed to let me down. The pacing is sporadic, the characters aren't at all convincing as Victorian-era teens, and there's very little romance to it if any, so I'm confused as to why it's so often marketed as a paranormal romance. I was so sure I'd love it, too. I really wanted to. Hmph.
  
• Janet Taylor Lisle's Afternoon of the Elves [read 9.26.13] 3/5 stars
  A short, quick, and moving children's chapter book about bittersweet friendship. I found this little gem at a community garage sale among a bunch of other Scholastic books of yore (I bought up nearly all of them for just $.25 a piece!). What I loved most about it is that it's neither confirmed nor denied whether magic is really at play. Another Newbery Honor Award winner that captivated me.
  
• Maggie Stiefvater's The Dream Thieves [read 9.28.13] 4.5/5 Stars
  Ahh, saving the best for last. I loved The Raven Boys, and now I love The Dream Thieves even more. It's pretty damn near perfect. All the storylines are touched upon, all the details are fleshed out nicely, there's constant action and revelations, and there's just the right touch of horror thrown into the mix. I really can't say enough good things. This series is quickly becoming my favorite PN Romance series. I've read almost all of Stiefvater's work, and I think this is her best book yet. YA PN fans-- get to reading!

As you can see, I'm easing myself back into journaling about books by just giving little, condensed reviews. Maybe I'll have a full-fledged entry for the next book I read. Stay tuned.

Summer 2013 Reads

Can we all pretend that I didn't set Reading Goals for the Summer 2013 season? Because I didn't follow my own plan of action. I mean, I did read a decent amount in the months of June, July, and August, but I kindof just went with my own reading flow. Usually, this means that I devoured a bunch of YA Paranormal Romances back-to-back, and this time, unfortunately, was no exception.

My goals were as follows:

• 2 Classics
• 2 Contemporary
• 3 Young Adult
• 2 Poetry
• 1 Drama
• 10 Graphic Novels

I read the following books:

1. Orson Scott Card's Ender's Shadow (YA)
2. Carson McCullers' The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (Classic)
3. J.R. Ward's Dark Lover (PN Romance)
4. Sharon Creech's Pleasing the Ghost (YA)
5. C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (Classic)
6. Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone (PN Romance)
7. Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy (PN Romance)
8. P.C. Cast's Marked (PN Romance)
9. Alan Moore's Watchmen (Graphic Novel)
10. Scott Westerfield's Uglies (Contemporary)
11. Maggie Stiefvater's Linger (PN Romance)
12. Koushun Takami's Battle Royale (Contemporary)
13. Laurell K. Hamilton's Guilty Pleasures  (PN Romance)

As you can see, I exceeded my genre goals in some areas and completely failed in others. I did not read poetry and drama like I intended to. Instead, I read 6 PN romances. Same difference, right? Wrong. Bad, English Major.

I shouldn't judge myself too harshly, though, since I have been consistently reading either way. I think I'll give up on these lists and just let my bookish heart take me where it will. Feeling guilty over reading the "wrong" books is getting very old, and, when I think about it, it's pretty ridiculous.

Pixel doesn't care that I like YA. In fact, she seems pretty impressed with my reading prowess this summer, no?

Spring 2013 Reading Goals: Achieved!

Two months ago, I decided to set reading goals for myself in lieu of a Spring reading list, figuring that more generalized goals would be less restricting than a list with specific titles on it.

You see, for the past year, I overzealously created reading lists, some 20+ titles deep. Obviously, I was only setting myself up for failure, but I am a diehard list maker. I'm not sure which is more fun for me-- forming the lists or crossing things off them.

Anyway, as it turns out, I was right in that I respond very well to reading goals; I ended up reading every genre that I intended to.
 

My overarching mission was (and still is) to read eclectically and often, and I did indeed accomplish just that by setting out to read the following:

The Great Book Purge of 2013

So. A funny thing has happened to me and my library... I've run out of room on my book shelves. Yes, I have an entire room with wall to wall shelving for my books, and yet, somehow, I no longer have any shelf space. How did that happen? Beats me. I totally have my book addiction under control. It's a mystery.

I suppose one must do what one must. In this case, I've made the incredibly difficult decision to get rid of some books. Though I have to admit, once I got started, it got easier and easier as I moved from shelf to shelf.

As I went along, deciding which of my books to orphan, I asked myself several questions:

Hi. My Name is Rosie, and I am a Biblioholic.

I fell off the wagon this weekend and purchased some more books during a sale at my local used bookstore. I hear the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, but I don't think I have one, really. I suppose I'm not actually on the road to recovery after all. And I'm okay with that.

Top to Bottom: John Green's Paper Towns Audiobook, Sharon Creech's Love That Dog, Ransom Riggs' Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch, Paula McLain's The Paris Wife, & P.D. James' Death Comes to Pemberley

And Autumn Turns to Winter

December is here, and, in my mind, that means winter is here, too. I know, I know. It isn't officially winter yet, but for all intensive purposes, it's here for me and my blog because I want to make a new seasonal reading list. But first, let's see how I did with my Autumn 2012 Reading List...

Graphic Novel Haul: Autumn 2012

The past three months have been very good to me in terms of inexpensive graphic novel finds. Half of this haul hails from my favorite used bookstore. The other half comes from a local bargain outlet store, where the books were as low as two for $1, and none of the books I purchased were over $3. Can you blame me for losing control of myself? The answer is no, no you cannot.

Here they are all stacked up. Um, I didn’t realize how many I bought until seeing them amassed like this. I just contemplated taking a pledge to myself not to buy anymore graphic novels until all of these are read, but that’s a promise we all know I can’t keep.

Back to the books. Let me break it down for you:

• Raina Telgemeier’s Drama
• Miss Lasko-Gross’ A Mess of Everything
• Martin Rowson’s The Wasteland
• Marjane Satrapi’s Chicken with Plums
• Richard Sala’s Peculia
• Matt Groening’s Futurama Adventures

• Adam Sexton’s Shakespeare’s Macbeth: The Manga Edition
• Richard Appignanesi’s Manga Shakespeare: The Tempest
• Jordan Mechner’s Prince of Persia
• John Matthews’ The Chronicles of Arthur: Sword of Fire and Ice
• William Shakespeare’s Macbeth (the ISBN on this gn is linked to the original work. Why? I don’t know.)
• Darren G. Davis’ Ray Harryhausen Presents: Wrath of the Titans
• Chuck Dixon’s Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein, Volume 1: Prodigal Son

• Sergio Aragones’ Louder Than Words
• Aline Kominsky Crumb’s Need More Love
• Steve Niles’ Daughters of Fly in my Eye
• Michael Barson’s Agonizing Love: The Golden Era of Romance Comics

• Rex Michael’s Fangbone! Third-Grade Barbarian
• Rex Michael’s The Egg of Misery: Fangbone, Third Grade Barbarian
• Stefan Petrucha’s Nancy Drew #15-21

The beauty of graphic novels is that they take a few hours to read tops, so it really won’t take me long to get through this glorious mountain of sequential art. ...Fine, yes, that's what I tell myself to allay the bookhoarder guilt. What of it?

Linked up here, here, here,and here. 

Assorted Autumn Reads [Part 1]

I journaled about several of the books I read this autumn, but I haven’t mentioned the others I managed to squeeze in during this busy season.

• Erin Morgentern’s The Night Circus [read 9/1/12] 4/5 Stars
  I feel as if I read this book eons ago, when really it’s only been about three months. The thing is, I’ve read fifteen (almost sixteen) books since this one, so my memory isn’t as clear. Note to self: write about books as soon as you finish them like a good little book blogger should. From what I can recall of my feelings toward this lovely novel about magic and mystery, I remember being completely entranced  by the ballroom scene between Marco and Celia. It was written so beautifully that I could practically feel the longing between the two characters. I found myself deeply exhaling after holding my breath because the tension is just so tangible; the passion radiated off the pages.  The novel is a bit slow here and there, but the original storyline and fascinating characters completely won me over.

• Daniel Clowes' Ghost World [read 9/12/12] 3/5 Stars
  After wanting to read this book for years and years and having it hyped up by several friends, I imagined this graphic novel to be, at most, life-changing-- or captivating at the very least. But for me, it is neither of those things. I was bored. I was annoyed. Maybe if I had read it during my angsty teen years, my feelings would be different, but I couldn’t connect. Bookish disappointment. Ah well, you win some, you lose some.

• Mark Gatiss' The Vesuvius Club Graphic Edition [read 9/21/12] 3/5 Stars
  Apparently this graphic novel is based off of its literary novel counterpart, Lucifer Box. Too bad it wasn’t extraordinary enough to make me want to read the original. The story follows Lucifer, an English secret agent during the Edwardian age, and his investigations of various unsavory characters. The only aspect that sets the story apart from countless other tongue-in-cheek-mysteries of the historical fiction genre is Lucifer’s sexuality. Otherwise, I was not wowed by the plot or the artistry.

• Vera Brosgol's Anya's Ghost [read 10/13/12] 3/5 Stars
  I promise I didn’t read three graphic novels in a row. I read Howl’s Moving Castle and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society in between—both of which are fantastic reads. Anya’s Ghost, on the other hand, was just okay. The art is cutesy, but I suppose that’s to be expected, or at least accepted, for a Young Adult graphic novel. The plot is original in many ways, but moved a bit too slowly for my liking.
  

Check out the other autumn reads I journaled about here and here.

Newest Arrivals

Over the past few weeks, I've acquired a substantial amount of new and used books. Some are giveaways, some gifts, some products of self-indulgent book-binging... and all mine, mine, MINE! Observe:

These three hailed from  the used bookstore to knock a few books off the ol' wishlist. 

And these gorgeous graphic novels are also all from the used bookstore. Can you tell I feel considerably less guilty over buying books when they are purchased from the used bookstore? I justify these guilt-free splurges several ways: 1) They are significantly marked down from their retail prices, 2) It is my personal duty to the community to patronize local brick-and-mortar bookstores, and 3) These books used to have a shelf they once called home, and they need me to adopt them because their days of readability are not yet over.

In this pile, the first book was a gift from a co-worker who highly recommends the series after learning I haven't read anything of the steampunk genre yet, and the second is a gift from my mother for a long day of travel.

These beauties were all won in GoodReads' First Reads giveaways. Though I think I am going to cool-it with the giveaways as I don't have any particular interest in some of these books other than that they were free.

And last but not least (by any means), these were all purchased with a birthday gift card! I put that generous gift card to excellent use, as you can see.

Though it probably goes without saying, I openly admit that I am a full-fledged bibliophile, and I make no apologies.

Linked up here and here.

The Best Kind of Mail

In my continuous and steadfast crusade against the downfall of paper media, I do solemnly swear that I will only buy print books; however, sometimes this must be accomplished via the internets as opposed to going to a brick and mortar bookstore. I do my very best to support my local bookstores, though I can't deny it's fun to receive packages full of books on my doorstep.

In the past week, I've received three of said book packages from W.W. Norton, Gray Wolf Press, and Hachette Books respectively.

I was lucky enough to win both Don Lee's The Collective from W.W. Norton and Ted Sanders' No Animals We Could Name from Gray Wolf Press in two Good Reads First Reads giveaways.

Major bonus that they aren't ARCs or Galleys, which is usually what a person wins in a First Reads giveaway. No Animals We Could Name is a shiny perfect-bound paperback, and The Collective is a hardcover! Both have beautiful cover art, too. I can't wait to feast on these two books. I just have to finish my Random Reads challenge first, but I'm halfway there.

The third package I got in the mail from Hachette Book Group contained the three items I've been drooling over admiring from afar on Chronicle Books' website. I finally bit the bullet and bought them thanks to the incredible sale they were having for Family and Friends: 35% off and free shipping. The sale is going on until July 24th, so you have a few more days to check it out.

I have been pining away for years over Grady McFerrin's This Book Belongs To bookplates and labels. And, I can officially say that they are everything I imagined them to be. Hmm.. that sounded pretty dramatic, but it doesn't make it any less true.

Being the Shakespeare lover that I am, I jumped all over this gorgeous specimen. Feast your eyes on the beautiful, modern illustrations by Caitlin Keegan.

And lastly, I bought the Carpe Diem Journal. I figured it could possibly motivate me to meet all those small goals I set for myself and then promptly forget about because life gets in the way. Plus, it's pretty.

Look at them all together in perfect harmony. It's a sweet coincidence that their colors all complement each other so nicely.

Now to find the perfect bookshelf to place my spoils. That's always half the fun, at least if your name is Rosie. So, how about you? Get any new books lately?

Linked up here and here.

A Book Spree, a new stack, and some musings...

I went to Mr. K's last night to check out the big sale going on there this weekend. I managed to snag some really great books for prices low enough to make me ridiculously giddy. I've always liked to buy my books new, but I have become quite the used books convert during my last few pilgrimages to Mr. K's. I also feel it's my personal responsibility, as well as the community's, to patronize any and all local independent book stores.

Here's a picture of my newest stack:

This may or may not be another symptom of my bibliophilia, but I love to know what motivates people to pick-up/read/buy their books. Is it because a trusted friend told you that you'd like it? Was it a GoodReads suggestion? Are you addicted to that series/author/genre? Even the most trivial reasons interest me. It's my belief that there are no wrong reasons to read a book as long as you take something important away with you from that reading experience. Is your English teacher forcing you to read it? Trying to impress your hipster friends? Convincing your love interest that you have the same tastes? I might giggle at you, but hey, I'm an advocate for reading the written word. If you are reading at all, good for you.

So, why did I pick up these particular books, you ask? Here's the breakdown:

• Cassandra Clare's City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments Book 5)
  I will probably elaborate further on my experience with this series some other time, but for now I will just say I read the first four, and my curiosity is piqued.
• Tina Fey's Bossypants
  I don't read biographies/autobiographies on the regular, but I'm a huge Tina Fey fan, and I heard great things about her memoir and wanted to check it out.
• Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis 1&2
  Always an avid graphic novel reader, I've known about and wanted to read Persepolis for years now. When I found the first 2 books in lovely condition for about $5 a piece, I had to have them.
• Natalie Babbitt's The Search for Delicious
  So, I've slowly been making my way through the books I should have read in my adolescence, and I figure this book is one of them. Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting was the first book to make me truly think. That book blew my ten-year-old mind. Therefor, this little hardcover gem called out to me.
• Creech's Bloomability and Hate That Cat
  No idea what either of them are about. Never heard of them. I just know that my undying loyalty to Creech has grown even stronger since reading and loving Heartbeat a few weeks ago. Here's hoping these two books are just as good.

It looks like I will be adding more books to my summer reading list, putting even more pressure on myself to read all of them in the next few months. Oh well, there are worse goals to have, right?