Listless Monday was inspired by both Amanda at A Bookshelf Monstrosity's feature Books by Theme and Court at Once Upon a Bookshelf's Listed feature. Be sure to check out their lists!
It's been quite some time since I've done a Listless Monday, and I almost didn't do one today, because I wanted to post about the Youth Media Awards announced this morning. However, I decided to post this list, because it has particular relevance to me right now. We haven't had any days this year that got above freezing so far. Since I've already done a winter-themed list, I took a new twist for this one. Thus, I bring you:
When It's Cold Outside
Put on your coat:
Don't forget your hat:
And your gloves:
Long socks are helpful:
And then your boots:
You may also want to throw on a scarf for good measure:
Lauren suggested ear muffs (though I couldn't find a cover of either of these books with ear muffs on it, they both are very much dress warmly books):
Any additions?
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I'm glad to be back doing this meme again. And it's a perfect week for me to jump in, because we are talking about the most anticipated event of 2011. And for me, that just has to be:
My husband graduating from school.
Mind you, this graduation is actually leading to another three years of school. But still. Both of us are so happy to be leaving undergraduate work behind.
Which leads to the next anticipated event, which is moving. I've lived in this state for all but about two years of my life and I am ready to try somewhere new. Mind you, I am going to miss my Utah Bloggers and the fabulous socials we have about twice a year. However, I am very happy for a change.
Where are you going, you may ask? Well, that is currently unknown. Alas, we are doing the Waiting Game. Waiting to hear back from the schools we applied to.
So, that's really the big one for me. It's kind of hard to plan for any other events when you don't know where you'll be in six months. But, frankly, it's also kind of exciting.
Plus, wherever we go, there will be books and new bookish friends. So, here's to a new year of adventures and reading!
What's your most anticipated event this year?
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Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin)
Publication date: January 2011
ISBN: 9781595143976
Source: Review copy provided by publisher and LibraryThing Early Reviewers
When Amy and her parents decide to go on a mission to a new planet, they must be cryogenically frozen for 300 years. But Amy is brutally awakened 50 years too soon and finds herself on a spaceship filled with secrets and lies. She struggles to adapt to this enclosed space where people docilely accept everything the sinister leader Eldest tells them without question. She thinks she can trust Elder, the next in line for leadership, but in a place where she knows no one and understands nothing, can she really trust him?
Things I Liked:
This book really does have it all. It's mystery, sci-fi, dystopian, action-adventure and even a little romance. The story is completely consuming and it caught me almost immediately in its grasp. There were a lot of twists and surprises that totally reversed how you thought about everything and sometimes everyone! While I did have one of the major plot mysteries figured out almost immediately, I did not grow bored because there was so much I hadn't figured out and couldn't have guessed. I loved the way Revis created the atmosphere on the ship - Amy discovers smells and tastes and sights that are so well described that you feel a part of the ship too. The isolation and struggles of her new life are emotionally overpowering and you can't help but feel the same way. I was also impressed with Elder and the conflicting and sometimes contradictory way he acted and thought. It was really a fascinating and fast-paced story complete with interesting ethical dilemmas and a glimpse at a horrifying and beautiful possible future.
The air hits me like a wall, and I stop a few feet from the door. It smells processed, cool against my nostrils, just like the air-conditioned hospital. I'd expected mechanical, industrial-cold air inside. That air felt natural, because it was just like every other air-conditioned house back on Earth, with that falsely cool, slightly stale feel to it. But outside...the air is still the same. This is not air that has ever felt a breeze. This is air that has been used and reused for centuries. p 133 of ARC
How can I explain to this girl, who was raised among differences and lack of leadership and chaos and war that this is the way a normal society is run, a peaceful society, a society that doesn't just survive, as hers did, but one that thrives and flourishes as it hurtles through space toward a new planet? p 298 of ARC
Does it matter if it's a lie if it keeps us alive? p 354 of ARC
Things I Didn't Like:
I have to admit that there were minor things that nagged at me while reading. It felt like there were a few minor holes in the plot that I couldn't quite recognize, but that left me doubting some of the events. Also, I could have done without the Season. Just saying.
Read-alikes:
Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder
Matched by Ally Condie
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
a few, but mostly there were evolved cuss words
mrg-factor: XX
quite a bit, though most of it is not descriptive
v-factor: ->->
some disturbing images, but not a lot of gore
Overall rating: *****
I was lucky enough to get an extra ARC and I would love to pass it on to one lucky reader! Fill out the form below by next Friday, January 14. US only.
If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage
Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Publication date: June 2010
ISBN: 9781416997306
Source: Library
Things I Liked:
Gorgeous, rending, painful, enlightening, real, bitter, absolutely heartbreaking. So well done, so awful, yet so beautiful. I don't read a lot of free verse novels, but this one might be enough to get me reading more. The ending made it all worth the pain of reading it. Hope was very aptly named and I love the part she played in the book. I loved the sisters and their relationship - to take care of each other was the most important thing. I also really liked how Hope was dealing with all of these tragic and difficult things, but still having relatively normal teen experiences - kissing games and parties and liking boys. It kept things from becoming too dark and too hard. Another amazing, difficult, beautiful book for Williams. Not for nothing was this on my favorites of 2010 list. Some favorite parts:
Don't let them take me,
Hope,
Liz says,
don't let them take me.
Her voice
pierces me in the chest,
right under
the breastbone.
And my heart,
right then and there,
rips in half.
I can feel the weepy
tear in it. p 50
I remember how,
when I was little,
I had thought she was pretty.
The prettiest momma in all the world.
Now everything about her is
ugly.
And I wonder,
will I ever feel the same
about her again? p 447
Things I Didn't Like:
Don't expect to get through this one without your tissues and a broken heart. If you are feeling sad already, pick up something light-hearted first.
Read-alikes:
Reminded me of Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor
Also, Everything is Fine and This is What I Did: by Ann Dee Ellis
Probably like Ellen Hopkins' books (though I haven't read any)
BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
a few
mrg-factor: X
some very disturbing parts, nothing graphic
v-factor: ->
a few things, some mature incidents and attempted suicide
Overall rating: *****
Why is it that some of the most powerful books are also the hardest to read?
If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage
Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie by Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Flux
Publication date: October 2009
ISBN: 9780738714844
Source: Library
James and Deidre continue their adventures with fey at a musical conservatory where they hope to deepen their musical abilities. James is being stalked by Nuala, a faerie who expands a human's musical skills in exchange for a heavy price. Their relationship takes some interesting turns as they give and take from each other in surprising ways. But, things get much more dangerous when James realizes both Deidre and Nuala are in danger from a very powerful faery.
Things I Liked:
The writing, as always, was just gorgeous. Stiefvater is so careful with each sentence and phrase that it seems like it must take years to write these books. I also really loved the interesting twists and turns to the story. It wasn't really at all what I expected of a sequel to Lament. I'd call it more of a companion book. I just adore James, the sarcastic little sweetheart, and I realized I don't really care at all for Deidre (whose story was really a side plot). James was the life of the story and everything else just kind of decorated the background behind his vibrant personality. Here are some parts I just had to share:
The first week - all coy introductions in class and fluffy assignments - was over, and the second week was showing its teeth. Out came the giant homework assignments, the writing-upon of boards, and the general rending of garments that go with high school It was funny - I'd really thought in the back of my head that a school filled with music geeks would be different from a regular high school, but really the only thing that was different was that we played our roles according to where we sat in the orchestra. Brass players: jerks. Woodwinds: snobby cliques. Strings: overachievers with their hands up all the time. Percussion: class clowns. p 15
The humble practice chanter is a slender plastic version of the chanter on the full-sized pipes, and its primary virtue is that it's one thousand times quieter than the actual pipes - making you one thousand times less likely to be stoned to death while practicing indoors. It's also a heck of a lot easier to play, physically - none of that huffing-puffing-blow-your-bag-in thing. It also sounds like a dying goose; for sheer impressiveness, you need the actual pipes. p 24
I got tired of watching her boohoo-ness really fast, and decided to go to the movie theater instead. If I was going to be witness to that amount of melodrama, I wanted it to be delivered by a highly paid and beautiful head on a big screen. p 73
Things I Didn't Like:
It felt like very slow reading. Things didn't seem to happen so much as glide by in slow-motion. It also felt a bit melodramatic throughout the whole thing, like being a teenager feels, actually. If it weren't for the redeeming sarcastic humor of James, it would have been over the top.
Read-alikes:
Read Lament by Maggie Stiefvater
These books might tide you over while you wait for next Iron Fey book by Julie Kagaway
Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr
BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !@#$
almost too much for me
mrg-factor: XX
several incidents and plenty of innuendo
v-factor: ->
some parts, but not a lot
Overall rating: ****
I'd read a cereal box written by Stiefvater. Do you have an author like that?
If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage
You know, I really struggle to pick a perfect number of books that fit such a category as "favorites" or "best." So, I figured I'd just list the books that I loved this year and sort of not care about the numbers. I did manage to group them into categories (and subcategories) though!
Young Adult Books
Fantasy/Paranormal:
A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth Bunce
Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink
Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor
The Demon's Covenant by Sarah Rees Brennan
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
White Cat by Holly Black
The Lost Saint by Bree Despain
Dystopian:
Incarceron and Sapphique by Catherine Fisher
Inside Out by Maria Snyder
Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Matched by Ally Condie
The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
Contemporary/Realistic Fiction:
Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams
Middle Grade Books
Fantasy/Steampunk:
The Farwalker's Quest by Joni Sensel
The Lost Conspiracy by Frances Hardinge
Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
Historical Fiction:
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick
Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson
Contemporary/Realistic:
Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor
Nonfiction Books
Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett
Adult Books
Fantasy/Paranormal/Dystopian:
Daughter of the Forest and Son of the Shadows by Juliet Marillier
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
The Heir of Night by Helen Lowe
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Historical Fiction:
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley
Rereads (I figure if I loved it enough to reread it, it should be a favorite)
Harry Potter 1-6 by J.K. Rowling (on audio)
The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
2010 Great Series Ends:
Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner (A Conspiracy of Kings)
Last Survivors series by Susan Beth Pfeffer (This World We Live In)
Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness (Monsters of Men)
Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins (Mockingjay)
Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull (Keys to the Demon Prison)
Glass series by Maria V. Snyder (Spy Glass)
Darkest Powers series by Kelley Armstrong (The Reckoning)
Incarceron duology by Catherine Fisher (Sapphique)
2010 Great Series Starts:
Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare (Clockwork Angel)
Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa (The Iron King, The Iron Daughter)
Curse Workers series by Holly Black (White Cat)
The Agency series by Y.S. Lee (A Spy in the House, The Body at the Tower)
Inside Out series by Maria Snyder (Inside Out)
It is apparent that I either really enjoy fantasy (true) or I don't read enough of anything else (probably true). Also, I was kind of surprised I had no YA historical fiction favorites. I don't think I read many of them, but hopefully it isn't because I don't generally like that particular flavor of YA. And creating this post made me realize that I have some 30+ reviews from 2010 that are waiting to be posted - some of them favorites! Gotta get moving.
What are your favorites, top ten, or best of 2010?
If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage
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