Books of 2010

[greenconverses]

1. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters
2. Jane Bites Back by Michael Thomas Ford
3. Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
4. 39 Clues #7: The Viper's Nest by Peter Lerangis
5. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
6. The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
7. The Oracles of Delphi Keep by Victoria Laurie
8. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
9. The Shadow Thieves (Cronus Chronicles 1) by Anne Ursu
10. Peeps by Scott Westerfeld
11. Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark by Ridley Pearson
12. O, Juliet by Robin Maxwell
13. Siren Song (Cronus Chronicles 2) by Anne Ursu
14. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahme-Smith
15. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
16. Catching Fire by Suzanna Collins
17. Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
18. Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
19. Lion's Heat by Lora Leigh
20. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith
21. Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
22. Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean
23. 39 Clues #8: The Emperor's Code by Gordon Korman
24. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
25. The Luxe by Anna Godbersen
26. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
27. Rumors by Anna Godbersen
28. Envy by Anna Godbersen
29. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
30. Vampyres of Hollywood by Adrienne Barbeau and Michael Scott
31. Bengal's Heart by Lora Leigh
32. A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn
33. Beastly by Alex Flinn
34. The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison
35. 39 Clues #9: Storm Warning by Linda Sue Park
36. The Second Short Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
37. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart
38. Insatiable by Meg Cabot
39. Incarceron by Catherine Fischer
40. Immortal Fire (Cronus Chronicles #3) by Anne Ursu
41. Girl Stays in the Picture by Melissa de la Cruz
42. Android Karenina by Leo Tolstoy and Ben H. Winters
43. Splendor by Anna Godbersen
44. Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson
45. Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires #1) by Rachel Caine
46. Sea Change by Aimee Friedman
47. Front Row at the White House: My Life and Times by Helen Thomas
48. Dead Girls Dance (Morganville Vampires #2) by Rachel Caine
49. Midnight Alley (Morganville Vampires #3) by Rachel Caine
50. Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex by Eoin Colfer

So there's a Borders nearby my work that's having a closing sale and all books are 30 to 50 percent off. Therefore I went a little crazy buying possibly shitty YA novels, and will probably be going back before I leave to buy even more. I also have a 40 percent off coupon to the Borders near the Farragut North metro which I need to use as well.

- Sea Change was a paranormal romance novel featuring - you guessed it! - mermaids. What kept this book from being like all the other shitty YA romance novels out there is that a) the heroine had a personality, b) the paranormal love interest wasn't a creepy stalker and c) their romance wasn't Epic and All Consuming and was kind of normal except for the him-probably-being-a-mermaid thing. It was actually bittersweet, open ended and somewhat believable - plus (SPOILER), we never really find if he's a mermaid or if she's just crazy, which is a nice change. I just wish the book had been longer so some of the more interesting storylines didn't get crammed into and resolved in the last 70 pages.

- I liked Helen Thomas' autobiography because of all the little tidbits and facts she'd give you about the presidents. As a history nerd and political junkie, that was most fascinating to me. The book itself wasn't very well written - she tends to ramble a lot.

- Lemme just say right now, I'm kind of embarrassed by how much I love the Morganville Vampires series. I powered through #2 and #3 during my weekend in New York (yay for long train rides!), and I just can't get enough of it. Most likely because it's a YA vampire series where the vampires are actually dangerous and badass, and the MC isn't romantically interested in any of them (yet, anyway). I like all the four main characters, even though Claire can be kind of a dumbass (how is it that you always manage to get yourself kidnapped in each book, Claire? At least you're smart enough to get yourself out of it though), Shane needs to stop getting the shit beat out of him all the time, and Michael can stop with his creature of the night angsting already. Eve, you just keep being an awesome badass.Morganville's kind of like a Sookie Stackhouse series for YA, but they're no where near as exhausting to read as those are.

- I was pretty pleased by the final Artemis Fowl book, although I really don't think any of the latest ones can ever replicate the awesome of The First Three. This was loads better than the awful Time Paradox though, but I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending. It left me with a hollow, "That's it? Really?" kind of a feeling. I felt like Foaly over-stayed his welcome, as he has been doing in the latest couple of books, but Orion Fowl was a stroke of genius. I love him and I loved Holly's reaction to him.

Currently reading: Still trying to make my way through Sunshine, but it's getting really hard not to throw this book across the room. It goes through patches where it's super interesting (when Sunshine is hanging out with the vampire, for instance) and then it just gets really fucking dull like whenever the Other law enforcement officials or whatever get involved because then it leads to copious amounts of narrator infodumping. I've got like 100 pages left so I refuse to quit, but I am definitely never picking up another Robin McKinley book again.

I've also started the fourth Morganville Vampires book, but I'm keeping it as my reward when I finally finish Sunshine. If Claire's parents interrupt Claire and Shane's make-out time, I will not be a pleased shipper.

Up next: All the books I mentioned last time. I'll probably start I Am The Messenger once I finish Morganville.

Books I Need To Get: 19 DAYS UNTIL MOCKINGJAY GETS RELEASED. Uh, I mean...