Wrapping up August 2010

Howdy all!

It’s time for the August recap, and whoa, it’s been quite a month! Health wise, I’ve had to live with a laryngitis that wouldn’t go (I even did a comic about it), and when that finally got better, I burned my hand with sauce while cooking… very hot sauce! It’s bandaged well and healing now though, so I can type without hurting. But hurt it did, so much that I fainted – and I wasn’t even wearing a corset!

Being sick means I spent a lot of my time resting on the couch, and of course this means I got quite a lot of reading done. Though it was great in quantity, I am disappointed to report it was a not so good in quality. There were some good books (Boy Meets Boy, Poison Study, Love Walked in, Mockingjay, Story of Art…), but in the end I was left with a “meh” feeling. It might have just been my general mood though.

What I read in August :

1. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
2. Here’s the Deal : Don’t Touch Me by Howie Mandel
3. Frontalités by Michaël Lachance
4. Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder
5. Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos
6. You Wish by Mandy Hubbard
7. TMI by Sarah Quigley
8. Gravity by Leanne Lieberman
9. Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
10. Watch Me by Lauren Barnholdt
11. After the Moment by Garret Freymann-Weyr
12. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
13. Libyrinth by Pearl North
14. The Story of Art by E. H. Gombrich
15. Carrie Pilby by Caren Lissner

I will be posting a review of it soon, but The Story of Art will count as part of my “Summer of Chunksters” project. At 600+ pages, it will fit right it! It was a fun read though, definitely something I’d recommend as an introduction to the history of art or to refresh your memory. I think it was a good idea to read it just before I go back to school, too!

What I reviewed in August :

1. Blankets by Craig Thompson
2. The Luxe by Anna Godbersen
3. The Girl who Could Fly by Victoria Forester
4. You Wish by Mandy Hubbard
5. Libyrinth by Pearl North
6. Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

How was your August? What was your best read in the past month? And what are you planning on reading in September?

Wrapping up July 2010

August! It’s already August!

Where has all the time gone? I definitely didn’t read and studied as much as I was planning to in July, which means that August will be a charged month. I’m tired just thinking of it, but it’s a good way of being tired.

July was a smaller month than June in terms of books read, and I blame The Passage for this. It did take me over a week to get through it! But I had an okay months, in numbers and in quality. I also read a lot of articles in preparation for school, and began many non-fiction books I have yet to finish (and in some cases, don’t know if I will).

Books read in July :

1. Demon Princess : Reign Check by Michelle Rowen
2. The Passage by Justin Cronin
3. Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby
4. Seeing Ghosts : 911 and the Visual Imagination by Karen Engle
5. The Luxe by Anna Godbersen
6. Rumors by Anna Godbersen
7. Envy by Anna Godbersen
8. Splendor by Anna Godbersen
9. L’œuvre d’art à l’époque de sa reproductibilité mécanique by Walter Benjamin
10. Another Faust by Daniel & Dina Nayeri
11. Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Books reviewed in July :

1. Nobody’s Princess by Esther Friesner
2. That Summer by Sarah Dessen
3. The Passage by Justin Cronin
4. The Hand that First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell
5. Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby
6. Whip it by Shauna Cross
7. Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

What about you : how was your month? What’s the best book you’ve read in July? And what are you planning on reading in August?

This month, other than school-related stuff, I’m planning on reading another of my chunksters, but I haven’t decided yet whether it will be New York or Under the Dome. I have started re-reading Poison Study and I am hoping read the two other books in the series after that.

Wrapping Up June 2010

Hey y’all!

I am back from beautiful Vermont were I spent a wonderful weekend under the sun, eating like a little piggy and discovering my first farmer’s market in beautiful Burlington. I also began reading The Passage, which after all the hype I was prepared to hate, but surprisingly so far I quite enjoy it.

But now it’s back to business with the June recap! I have to say, I had a great month, with far more reading that I thought I would get done!

Books Read

1. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
2. Lipstick Apology by Jennifer Jabaley
3. Academy 7 by Anne Osterlund
4. Wicked by Sara Shepard
5. Gimme a Call by Sarah Mlynowsky
6. Going too Far by Jennifer Echols
7. Nobody’s Princess by Esther Friesner
8. My Soul to Lose by Rachel Vincent
9. My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent
10. North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
11. The Girl who Could Fly by Victoria Forester
12. Killer by Sara Shepard
13. Heartless by Sara Shepard
14. Demon Princess : Reign or Shine by Michelle Rowen
15. Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller
16. Wanted by Sara Shepard
17. The Hand that First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell
18. Images et Société by Catherine Saouter
19. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

My favorite book was, without a doubt, Notes on a Scandal. I already wrote my review of it and it will be on my “Best of 2010” list that’s for sure! I’m on the waiting list to borrow the DVD at the library and I’m quite curious to see how the book translate into a movie.

Three good books that surprised me : Going too Far, North of Beautiful and Academy 7. I thought I would have an okay read with each ones, but in the end and I really enjoyed them. Also, I was glad that one of my favorite authors, Maggie O’Farrell, didn’t disappoint with The Hand that First Held Mine.

Books Reviewed

1. Lies by Michael Grant
2. The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong
3. Lipstick Apology by Jennifer Jabaley
4. Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller
5. My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent
6. Girl Stays in the Picture by Melissa de la Cruz
7. Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves
8. It’s not Summer Without You by Jenny Han

How was June for you? What’s the best book you’ve read? What are your plans for July?

Wrapping Up May 2010

May was a good reading month – certainly better than the previous ones! I managed to read more than I planned to, which is always a nice surprise. The end of the month found me swallowed by Sara Shepard’s Pretty Little Liars series; I didn’t plan on reading more than the first book, but with the cat being sick, I couldn’t concentrate on more serious reading!

Here’s what happened around here in May :

Books Read

1. Tap and Gown by Diana Peterfreund
2. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
3. Runaway by Meg Cabot
4. It’s not Summer without You by Jenny Han
5. Rampant by Diana Peterfreund
6. The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong
7. UFO in her eyes by Xiaulo Guo
8. The Vinyl Princess by Yvonne Prinz
9. The Dead Girls Dance by Rachel Caine
10. Lies by Michael Grant
11. Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard
12. Flawless by Sara Shepard
13. The Queen’s Pawn by Christy English
14. Perfect by Sara Shepard
15. Unbelievable by Sara Shepard

I loved most of what I read in May, to various degrees, so it would be hard to pick a favorite. I really enjoyed The Uncommon Reader (5 stars!) but Rampant was a solid YA urban fantasy kind of read (I think it’s UF? or is there another kind of fantasy that takes place in our real world?). Also in YA, I was so glad to finally get my hands on Lies, which was as good (at least!) as the previous two books and The Vinyl Princes was a good YA fiction. Finally, I have to mention The Queen’s Pawn, which reminded me that I need to read more historical fiction!

Books Reviewed

1. Airhead by Meg Cabot
2. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
3. Under the Rose by Diana Peterfreund
4. The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
5. The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong
6. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
7. What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell
8. The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
9. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
10. Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

So that was a good review month! Here’s hoping I’ll do at least as good in June!

Comics

• Withdrawal Symptoms
• How to make money from a reader

How about you? Was May a good reading month for you? What was your favorite read, and what book are you looking forward to reading in June?

Wrapping up April 2010

Because of the crazy end of semester, and because of the wonderful week in Paris, I haven’t had much reading or blogging time, so this will be a short recap (which is good, because it gives me more time to go around other blogs! 🙂 )

Read in April :

1. This World we Live in by Susan Beth Pfeffer
2. Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder
3. Under the Rose (Secret Society Girl 2), by Diana Peterfreund
4. The Eternal Kiss, by various authors, Trisha Telep editor
5. Rites of Spring (Break) (Secret Society Girl 3), by Diana Peterfreund
6. If I Stay, by Gayle Forman

It would be really hard to pick a favorite for April : If I Stay was an absolutely emotional read, and Inside Out was really hard to put down once I got into the story. I have been falling more and more in love with Peterfreund’s characters, and really enjoyed books 2 and 3. The Eternal Kiss was a good short stories collection, even for me (I’m really not much of a fan of short stories). The book I enjoyed less clearly was This World we Live in. It wasn’t bad, just not as good as I wanted it to be. Which brings me to :

Reviewed in April :

1. The Pleasure of my Company, by Steve Martin
2. Glass Houses, by Rachel Caine
3. This World we Live in, by Susan Beth Pfeffer

What about you? Did you have a good reading/blogging month in April? What was the best book you read?

Wrapping up March 2010

So yeah, March is already over! Who knew it would happen so fast?

It was a crazy month for me, the craziest since the beginning of the year! So much has happened, some good, some bad, but in any case, it’s April now! Only three more weeks to this semester and then… we’re off on our one week trip to Paris!

Read in March :

My reading in March was so good, not in terms of quantity but in terms of quality (which, I think we can all agree, is the most important of the two!) I have several great surprises and few disappointments. To give you an idea, I gave an approximative rating out of 5 to the books I read :

1. Just One of the Guys Kristan Higgins (4)
2. Incarceron Catherine Fisher (4.5)
3. Chester’s Masterpiece Mélanie Watt (4)
4. Before I Fall Lauren Oliver (4)
5. Shift Rachel Vincent (4.5 – 5)
6. The Girl with the Mermaid Hair Delia Ephron (4 – 4.5)
7. Still Alice Lisa Genova (5)
8. The Dead-Tossed Waves Carrie Ryan (5)
9. Blankets Craig Thompson (4.5 – 5)
10. What I Saw and How I Lied Judy Blundell (3)
11. Alice I Have Been Melanie Benjamin (4 – 4.5)
12. The Summoning Kelley Armstrong (4)
13. The Awakening Kelley Armstrong (3.5)

So many 5 stars books, or close to 5 stars, for a while I almost thought I was too generous with the books. But in the end, I just think I had a lucky month. Hopefully April will be at least as good!

Also, at the start of the month, I had talked about 4 reasons why March will be awesome, presenting four books coming out in March I was really looking forward to. I have read 3 of them now, and The Hand that First Held Mine arrived this week, so it should get read soon too.

Reviewed in March :

I had reviewed only 3 books in February, but I did a lot better this month! I’m still not fast enough, but oh well, I’ll get to them some day…

1. Hate List by Jennifer Brown
2. Just One of the Guys by Kristan Higgins
3. Lovestruck Summer by Melissa Walker
4. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
5. Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton
6. Secret Society Girl by Diana Peterfreund
7. Still Alice by Lisa Genova
8. Zombie Blondes by Brian James

All in all, March was a nice reading and blogging month for me. How was it for you? What was the best book you read? What are you looking forward to reading in April?