Third Quarter Reading 2008
I read 37 books this quarter, putting my year-to-date total at 112. I’ve gotta admit, I’m feeling pretty good about myself today.
The Redheaded Princess – Ann Rinaldi Pretty good biography about Queen Elizabeth’s youth. Plus, I love Ann Rinaldi.
Slipping – Cathleen Davitt Bell Kind of time-traveley, touchy-feeling family book. For boys. Yes, it was a bit strange.
Caught Between the Pages – Marlene Carvell Unbelievably forgettable. As in, I can’t really think of a thing to say about it.
The Juliet Club – Suzanne Harper Girl goes to Italy to study Shakespeare and SURPRISE! Falls in love.
My Dad’s a Birdman – David Almond Too weird for my blood. And if my dad was eating bugs off the floor, I would lose my mind.
Revolution is not a Dinner Party – Ying Chang Compestine Communist Revolution books? Yes please.
The Willoughbys – Lois Lowry Funny, but still not quite funny enough.
Audrey, Wait! – Robin Benway Minus the copious swearing, a really amusing book.
My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, and Fenway Park – Steve Kluger Uneven – sometimes hilarious, sometimes just weird and stupid.
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell – Susanna Clark Harry Potter for adults? I think not.
Rapunzel’s Revenge – Shannon and Dean Hale An excellent graphic novel. Fun and funny. Anyone with braids that can be used as lassos is a winner in my book.
Breaking Dawn – Stephenie Meyer The more I think about this book, the more I seethe with rage. I try not to dwell on it.
Alive and Well in Prague, New York – Daphne Grab I find it hard to believe that, even in Prague, New York, someone would willingly wear overalls.
Planet Pregnancy – Linda Oatman High I read this book in about thirty minutes. Thank you, blank verse.
The Loser’s Guide to Life and Love – A. E. Cannon Delightful and funny. Midsummer Night’s Dream has never been so charmingly modern.
Twilight – Stephenie Meyer What more is there to say?
New Moon – Stephenie Meyer Much better the second time when I wasn’t all consumed with IS EDWARD EVER COMING BACK!?!?!?
Keys to the Kingdom: Mister Monday – Garth Nix Amusing and clever, but not really my style.
Eclipse – Stephenie Meyer My favorite of the series. I will not apologize for bawling through the end when she tells Jacob she picks Edward. Sob!
Monster – Dean Walter Myers Meh.
Breaking Dawn – Stephenie Meyer Worse the second time. Yes, I read this twice in three weeks.
The Possibilities of Sainthood – Donna Freitas Cute, but a little repetitive.
The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins This book is out now. Go read it, pronto.
Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos – R.L. LaFevers Frankly? I’ve never been so bored by Egyptian curses.
Al Capone Does My Shirts – Gennifer Choldenko I read this after we visited Alcatraz. It was a really good book.
Forever – Judy Blume My first ever Judy Blume book, if you can believe it. This didn’t really make me want to run out and read more.
Jip, His Story – Katherine Paterson Not as good as Bridge to Terabithia but a bazillion times better than Jacob Have I Hated Loved.
Geography Club – Brent Hartinger So unrealistic in so many ways. I cannot even begin to list my issues with this book. Fortunately, we talked about it in class and I got to publicly air my grievances.
Thoreau at Walden – John Porcellino A top-notch graphic novel. Plus I felt uber-smart reading actual Thoreau (albeit with pictures).
Sweethearts – Sara Zarr A stellar book – definitely one of my favorites from the quarter.
Story of a Girl – Sara Zarr Sweethearts was much better.
Tex – S. E. Hinton Loved! So well-written that I didn’t even mind reading about horses.
The Declaration – Gemma Malley Interesting but very predictable. Also, the main character was kind of annoying, which is a downer.
How NOT to be Popular – Jennifer Ziegler Funny, predictable, disappointing ending. What else is there to say?
Shakespeare’s Secret – Elise Broach I could not wrap my head around this book. It was mystery! romance! history! but only sort of a bit of each.
High Dive – Tammar Stein Review forthcoming. For now, suffice it to say, this book was top-notch.
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Just for the record, I read two and a half books YESTERDAY. All of a sudden they were due and I hadn’t gotten around to them. So I powered through and had them returned by 7.
It did sort of require me to neglect my small child for a few hours.
You either read the wrong Judy Blume or she’s not as good as I remember. “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret” was my all-time favorite. I remember it being hilarious. But then again, I was ten.
My god. No kids and in school. That’s the only thing I can attribute to reading that much in 3 months. 🙂 I’m lucky if I can get through one book in a month that I’ve already READ, let alone something new, and the only time I get to do that is while I’m in the bathroom. Srsly. Enjoy it while it lasts.
How do you keep track of SO MANY books? Where do you find them all? How long do you read every day? Do you listen to books on tape? Do you own most of these books- how many lbs of books do you think you own/carry around when you move?
I’m in the middle of “The Hunger Games” right now and… Wow! It’s amazing.
I felt the same way about all your “Twilight” series references! I’m still so conflicted over “BD.”
I’m about to delve into “Ghostgirl” – that looks fun!
you really put us all to shame with reading. i can barely read the books i’m assigned for my ONE, i repeat, ONE class. boo.
you’re awesome though, so i’m not surprised! 🙂
just curious, how do you keep track of the books you’ve read? through your blog? or do you have a paper list somewhere?
my mother has kept a paper list forever…I was looking at it the last time I was home, it dates back to 1992!
Now I have to go back and read “Just As Long As We’re Together” by Judy Blume to see if it was really as good as I thought it was back in the day. I do think you should give her another chance though! 🙂
Okay, glad I’m not the only one who sobbed at the end of Eclipse. And I totally think Sweethearts was better than Story of A Girl. I can’t wait for Sara Zarr’s next novel.
WOW. I am totally blown away by your appetite for books. That’s amazing.
I read Judy Blume books growing up (Just As Long As We’re Together, over and over until it fell apart), but just recently (at 25) got around to reading Forever, Tiger Eyes, and a couple of others I’d missed as a kid. Forever was definitely NOT my favorite. They were such an annoying couple, weren’t they?
I want to read The Loser’s Guide to, uh, whatever it was.
How do you keep track of your books? I really wanna know.
A great book you should read is Jesus the Christ by Talmage. Really good!