Ring Out the Old
I have been loving reading the various end of year reading wrap-ups on various blogs. If you are thoroughly sick of them, you may move right along. I shall not be offended. However, if you have a burning desire to see what I read in October, November, and December of 2010 and my brief and non-witty thoughts on each one, this is your blog post. Proceed with caution.
- Monster High by Lisi Harrison
This was a terrible way to start the quarter. This book was so dumb I could hardly stand it. And, dude, I have read some really really dumb books.
- My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison
Definitely my least favorite of hers thus far.
- Revenge of the Cheerleaders by Janette Rallison
Ah, here is the Janette Rallison I know and love.
- White House Autumn by Ellen Emerson White
Man, I loved this series.
- Long Live the Queen by Ellen Emerson White
Brace yourself for quite a lot of swearing, but excellent excellent story line and dialogue.
- My Bonny Light Horseman by L. A. Meyer
I cannot remember a time when I wasn’t listening to these in the car.
- Long May She Reign by Ellen Emerson White
Gripping, horrifying, fabulous. Also has quite a lot of swearing.
- Food Rules by Michael Pollen
A quick read that made me laugh and swear to eat better.
- The Hole in the Wall by Lisa Rowe Fraustino
Have I said before how BIZARRE this book was? I mean, really. It was so bizarre.
- Delirium by Lauren Oliver
I thought I might be burned out on dystopian novels. I was wrong.
- Things I Know About Love by Kate Le Vann
Why did this book end like it did? I was so prepared to love it.
- The Candymakers by Wendy Mass
Cute and funny. Not the Roald Dahl knock-off I feared. Also, the day I learn to spell “Roald” without looking it up is the day I consider myself a real children’s librarian.
- One Crazy Summer by Rita Garcia-Williams
A big favorite for the Newbery. Can’t wait to find out on Monday!
- Lockdown by Walter Dean Myers
Still memorably good, possibly because I expected it to be terrible.
- The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, & June by Robin Benway
Someone on a blog somewhere said they thought this had a good shot at the Printz. I would die of surprise. It was kind of silly.
- Mini Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
WHY do I keep reading these? (I have no idea).
- Poems: New and Collected by Wislawa Szymborska
Do you know how SMART it made me feel to be reading Nobel prize-winning Polish poetry? LIKE A FREAKING GENIUS.
- Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Perhaps the only person in the book blogging universe who did not fall head over heels for this book. And mini-confession: I just had to pretend he was taller than she is. I could not date someone shorter than me. Because I am a very shallow individual.
- Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
Fun, but I nearly had to strangle Seth on multiple occasions. I mean, really, what part of “DO NOT OPEN THE WINDOW” were you not clear on?
- Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales
Amusing but not quite as awesome as I’d been told it would be.
- Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
Not my favorite of his. But still interesting.
- Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler
So much better than Twenty Boy Summer. But still not my favorite.
- Rapture of the Deep by L.A. Meyer
i know. This series never ends.
- Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers by Ralph Moody
Give me Little House every day of the week and twice on Sundays.
- Keeper by Kathi Appelt
Also a favorite for a Newbery nod of some kind.
- The Road Home by Ellen Emerson White
I loved this book. Of course.
- Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War by Nathaniel Philbrick
The comments from last quarters books show up here and it amuses me that this one said, “Delightful fluff.” The last thing that could be said about this book. Interesting until the war started.
- A Family of Readers: The Book Lover’s Guide to Children’s and Young Adult Literature by Roger Sutton
Oh man, this book was written for me.
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
I wasn’t thrilled with this book the first time around. This time it seemed BRILLIANT. Oh, I loved it.
- Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
I know, I know. Another wildly popular YA book that I didn’t quite grasp the hype about.
- Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
How many times can you use the phrase “blossom of pain”? Not as many as Paolo Bacigalupi.
- I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan
Sweet and very unlike most YA books.
- The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci
Meh.
- Jane by April Lindner
Okay, see, some books don’t translate to modern times very well. Keeping your mentally unbalanced wife locked in the attic in 2010? Makes it rather hard to like Mr. Rochester (who is actually a ROCK STAR in this version. Yes, a literal rock star).
- Knightly Academy by Violet Haberdasher
Awesomely Harry Potter-ish. Delighted me.
- Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
How had I not read this book until now? It was quite excellent.
- So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld
Stick with Uglies. For your own sake.
- The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney
Hmm. A big Hmmmm.
- Heist Society by Ally Carter
Watch Ocean’s Eleven instead.
- Welcome to Vietnam by Zack Emerson
Meh.
- Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers
I realized I don’t like REALLY REALLY DEPRESSING BOOKS. Even well-written ones.
- Baby-led Weaning by Gill Rapley
My baby eats avocado.
- Life Without Friends by Ellen Emerson White
Not my favorite, but it still had some excellent Ellen Emerson White zip to it. I read it in about five minutes.
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling
This is probably my favorite of the series. Or at least my favorite of the first half of the series. Oh, how I love Harry Potter.
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling
This one is a winner too. Even if it is perhaps a little longer than necessary.
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling
I love this one for the same reasons I love Prisoner of Azkaban – I love the ones where the backstory is so huge.
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling
Delightful. I cannot wait to read these to my children. (Take that, Harold Bloom).
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling
Do Fred and George ever grow old for me? No.
- Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
I am a wimp who has no stomach for medical descriptions. Ugh.
- Human .4 by Mike A. Lancaster
This was such a ridiculously bizarre and dumb book.
- Clara Lee and the Apple Pie Dream by Jenny Han
Yet another Judy Moody wanna-be. I like her “Summer” books much better.
- Deadly by Julie Chibbaro
Nice, but slow historical fiction. Yes, high praise indeed.
- The Book of Mormon
And a high note for the end of the year.
You've made me want to read Ellen Emerson White and Knightly Academy. I need me some more Harry Potter.
I echo exactly what Kim said.
And I can't stop reading Shopaholic books either.
Good lord. And here I thought moms of babies didn't even have time to shower!
Your links don't lead to the correct reviews, btw 😛
I was excitedly adding to my want to read book spreadsheet. This is a newly created spreadsheet and it excites me greatly to add to it.
And Deathly Hallows gets better every time I read it. I really was meh about it at first, but now? Now I want to have its babies.
I love those Shopaholic books. WHY?
(Also, I mean to tell you I have my best friend's little girl the Joanna Philbin books for Christmas and she was thrilled. Thanks for the recommendation!)
I've loved everything I've read by Malcolm Gladwell… And I OWN Blink, but for some reason I have been "meh" about reading it for, oh, three years now. Your description of it feels like a confirmation that I've done the right thing in not reading it.