Books 2012
Mar. 11th, 2012 04:35 pm![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
greenconverses1. Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse #11) by Charlaine Harris
2. The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Who Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade by Ann Fessler
3. Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicles #2) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
4. A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole
5. The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder
6. On A Dark Wing by Jordan Dane
7. Wither (Chemical Gardens #1) by Lauren DeStafano
8. Red Glove (Curse Workers #2) by Holly Black
9. Overbite by Meg Cabot
10. Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein
11. No Rest For The Wicked by Kresley Cole
12. The Death Cure by James Dashner
13. Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer
14. Beautiful Chaos (Caster Chronicles #3) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
15. Pandemonium (Delirium #2) by Lauren Oliver
16. Bewitching by Alex Finn
17. Crossed (Matched #2) by Ally Condie
18. 39 Clues: The Dead of Night (Cahills vs Vespers #3) by Peter Lerangis
I read the last couple of books on this list in the last week. Went on a road trip and had some time to catch up on my reading list, so that helped quite a bit! Anyway, spoilers are lurking here, so beware!
- Cinderella Ate My Daughter was an interesting critique on princess girl culture, but a lot of it wasn't anything I didn't know already and Orenstein was kind of flip-floppy solution there was to the problem. Actually, I don't think she offered one at all. I'd recommend it to someone who's just getting into feminist critique of pop culture and to parents of young girls as well.
- No West For The Wicked was much much MUCH better than the crap that was A Hunger Like No Other, but it was a bit of a chore to get through and I'm still not impressed with Kresley Cole's writing style or characters. I think I'll be moving on from her and to different authors.
- Oh my god, The Death Cure was absolutely terrible. This series had so much potential, but it just went down the drain after The Maze Runner. James Dashner's main problem is that he lets his characters spend waaaaay too much time doing absolutely nothing but talking about the problem at hand. He's good at action scenes, but it takes forever for the plot to move along. I get so bored during the first chunk of his novels that I have to force myself to continue and not give up. So glad I decided to borrow this one from the library instead of buy because it was so not worth the money. Will no longer be recommending this series to people.
- Cinder was a nice, easy read that felt like a Cinderella AU in Sailor Moon/Firefly crossover. Which would make sense, considering the author was a former fan fic writer and it says on the back jacket she was a fan of both shows. World building was kinda crappy (which seems to be a problem for a lot of turned pro fic writers at first) but I liked the characters and the idea behind it, and I will go and pick up the sequel next year.
- I ENDED UP LIKING BEAUTIFUL CHAOS, YOU GUYS, WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME. I think it helped that the focus on this book wasn't on Lena's unrelenting aaaaangst and more on Ethan, who I've always adored and is the main reason I kept reading the series in the first place. And with the way this book ended, I HAVE to pick up the fourth book because WHY KAMI GARCIA WHY ;_____;
And as much as I adore Ethan/Liv, I totes ship John/Liv because Ethan treated Liv like crap after Beautiful Darkness because Lena's a brat and he couldn't hurt her feeeeelings by having a friend who's a girl. Although I would probably be on board the John/Liv/Ethan train as well because that screams awesome.
- I'm really annoyed that it appears Lauren Oliver's going to go the love triangle route with this series after all. I would've been fine if Alex was actually dead - I think his part in Lena's story was over with after her time in the Wilds and what she went through with Julian. I want the next book in this series to focus on the rebellion and finding Lena's mother, not her angsting about which boy she has to choose and Alex being bitter and/or pulling a Peeta on her. I MEAN, I'LL PROBABLY CRY BUCKETS READING ABOUT IT ANYWAY BECAUSE LAUREN OLIVER'S WRITING IS AMAZING AND I CAN'T HATE IT, AND OH GOD THAT SCENE WITH BLUE IN THIS BOOK, BUT. It'll just annoy me to no end because I want less LOVE TRIANGLE!! and more awesome-heroine-finding-herself.
- Like Bewitching much more than Cloaked, and liked seeing things from Kendra's point of view. Probably should've waited until this one was at the library instead of buying it, but it was preeeeetty and I can't help myself.
- Crossed was so much better than Matched, it was almost like the book was written by a different person. My main problem with Matched was that it was boring and I felt like 3/4ths of the book was all world building and set-up for the rest of the series more than anything. None of that was here in Crossed and I loved that Condie had Ky and Cassia switch narration through the book. It made things a lot more interesting. Definitely putting the third book on my to-rea list.
- I forgot the new 39 Clues book came out last week until I checked Goodreads and saw reviews for it, and immediately ran to Walmart at 11 p.m. to buy it. I'm so glad that this series constantly ups the stakes for the characters in a believable way. It would've been so easy for this series to cop-out and keep things light and fluffy, but I love that the authors are exploring Dan and Amy's darker natures and such. Love that Ian's finally getting off his butt and doing something more than being IT support in this series too! And crap, Peter Lerangis made me ship Jake/Amy in this book, which is waaaaaaay better than Evan/Amy but COME ON, why you gotta abandon Ian/Amy, writers, why?!
Currently reading: Finally got my hands on The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I'm hoping to have that finished by tomorrow night. I have to have it finished by Thursday, at least, because it's only a seven day loan from the library.
Up next: I bought Fever by Lauren Destefano during my Walmart run last night as well, and I've got Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi to read too. Borrowed Tithe by Holly Black from the library since I need me some Holly Black to fill the hole in my heart until Black Heart comes out in April. Not to mention the books my roommate, er, acquired and passed along for me to read on my Nook.
Buuuuut it might be a while until I get to those books because Spellbound (Hex Hall #3) by Rachel Hawkins and Out of Sight, Out of Time (Gallagher Girls #5) by Ally Carter come out this week. ON THE SAME DAY. Like seriously. Who thought this was a good idea? Which one am I going to read first?!
2. The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Who Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade by Ann Fessler
3. Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicles #2) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
4. A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole
5. The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder
6. On A Dark Wing by Jordan Dane
7. Wither (Chemical Gardens #1) by Lauren DeStafano
8. Red Glove (Curse Workers #2) by Holly Black
9. Overbite by Meg Cabot
10. Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein
11. No Rest For The Wicked by Kresley Cole
12. The Death Cure by James Dashner
13. Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer
14. Beautiful Chaos (Caster Chronicles #3) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
15. Pandemonium (Delirium #2) by Lauren Oliver
16. Bewitching by Alex Finn
17. Crossed (Matched #2) by Ally Condie
18. 39 Clues: The Dead of Night (Cahills vs Vespers #3) by Peter Lerangis
I read the last couple of books on this list in the last week. Went on a road trip and had some time to catch up on my reading list, so that helped quite a bit! Anyway, spoilers are lurking here, so beware!
- Cinderella Ate My Daughter was an interesting critique on princess girl culture, but a lot of it wasn't anything I didn't know already and Orenstein was kind of flip-floppy solution there was to the problem. Actually, I don't think she offered one at all. I'd recommend it to someone who's just getting into feminist critique of pop culture and to parents of young girls as well.
- No West For The Wicked was much much MUCH better than the crap that was A Hunger Like No Other, but it was a bit of a chore to get through and I'm still not impressed with Kresley Cole's writing style or characters. I think I'll be moving on from her and to different authors.
- Oh my god, The Death Cure was absolutely terrible. This series had so much potential, but it just went down the drain after The Maze Runner. James Dashner's main problem is that he lets his characters spend waaaaay too much time doing absolutely nothing but talking about the problem at hand. He's good at action scenes, but it takes forever for the plot to move along. I get so bored during the first chunk of his novels that I have to force myself to continue and not give up. So glad I decided to borrow this one from the library instead of buy because it was so not worth the money. Will no longer be recommending this series to people.
- Cinder was a nice, easy read that felt like a Cinderella AU in Sailor Moon/Firefly crossover. Which would make sense, considering the author was a former fan fic writer and it says on the back jacket she was a fan of both shows. World building was kinda crappy (which seems to be a problem for a lot of turned pro fic writers at first) but I liked the characters and the idea behind it, and I will go and pick up the sequel next year.
- I ENDED UP LIKING BEAUTIFUL CHAOS, YOU GUYS, WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME. I think it helped that the focus on this book wasn't on Lena's unrelenting aaaaangst and more on Ethan, who I've always adored and is the main reason I kept reading the series in the first place. And with the way this book ended, I HAVE to pick up the fourth book because WHY KAMI GARCIA WHY ;_____;
And as much as I adore Ethan/Liv, I totes ship John/Liv because Ethan treated Liv like crap after Beautiful Darkness because Lena's a brat and he couldn't hurt her feeeeelings by having a friend who's a girl. Although I would probably be on board the John/Liv/Ethan train as well because that screams awesome.
- I'm really annoyed that it appears Lauren Oliver's going to go the love triangle route with this series after all. I would've been fine if Alex was actually dead - I think his part in Lena's story was over with after her time in the Wilds and what she went through with Julian. I want the next book in this series to focus on the rebellion and finding Lena's mother, not her angsting about which boy she has to choose and Alex being bitter and/or pulling a Peeta on her. I MEAN, I'LL PROBABLY CRY BUCKETS READING ABOUT IT ANYWAY BECAUSE LAUREN OLIVER'S WRITING IS AMAZING AND I CAN'T HATE IT, AND OH GOD THAT SCENE WITH BLUE IN THIS BOOK, BUT. It'll just annoy me to no end because I want less LOVE TRIANGLE!! and more awesome-heroine-finding-herself.
- Like Bewitching much more than Cloaked, and liked seeing things from Kendra's point of view. Probably should've waited until this one was at the library instead of buying it, but it was preeeeetty and I can't help myself.
- Crossed was so much better than Matched, it was almost like the book was written by a different person. My main problem with Matched was that it was boring and I felt like 3/4ths of the book was all world building and set-up for the rest of the series more than anything. None of that was here in Crossed and I loved that Condie had Ky and Cassia switch narration through the book. It made things a lot more interesting. Definitely putting the third book on my to-rea list.
- I forgot the new 39 Clues book came out last week until I checked Goodreads and saw reviews for it, and immediately ran to Walmart at 11 p.m. to buy it. I'm so glad that this series constantly ups the stakes for the characters in a believable way. It would've been so easy for this series to cop-out and keep things light and fluffy, but I love that the authors are exploring Dan and Amy's darker natures and such. Love that Ian's finally getting off his butt and doing something more than being IT support in this series too! And crap, Peter Lerangis made me ship Jake/Amy in this book, which is waaaaaaay better than Evan/Amy but COME ON, why you gotta abandon Ian/Amy, writers, why?!
Currently reading: Finally got my hands on The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I'm hoping to have that finished by tomorrow night. I have to have it finished by Thursday, at least, because it's only a seven day loan from the library.
Up next: I bought Fever by Lauren Destefano during my Walmart run last night as well, and I've got Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi to read too. Borrowed Tithe by Holly Black from the library since I need me some Holly Black to fill the hole in my heart until Black Heart comes out in April. Not to mention the books my roommate, er, acquired and passed along for me to read on my Nook.
Buuuuut it might be a while until I get to those books because Spellbound (Hex Hall #3) by Rachel Hawkins and Out of Sight, Out of Time (Gallagher Girls #5) by Ally Carter come out this week. ON THE SAME DAY. Like seriously. Who thought this was a good idea? Which one am I going to read first?!
