Text Addict

2015 Return and Report; Also, Big Blog Changes

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 08:06:00 +0000

Hello, everyone! It's been a while since you've heard from me; I'll explain why in a minute. First things first, though. Here's my report on my 2015 challenges:

2015 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge
Hosted by Brianna at The Book Vixen

Level: Getting My Heart Rate Up
Goal: 51-55 books
Tag: 2015 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge

Result:
I did it! My official count was 62.

Newbery Reading Challenge 2015
Hosted by Julie at Smiling Shelves

Level: L'Engle
Goal: 15-29 points
Tag: Newbery Reading Challenge 2015

Result:
Epic failure. The only Newbery book I read was A Wrinkle in Time, giving me 3 points. :(

The Eclectic Reader Challenge 2015
Hosted by Shellyrae at Book'd Out

Goal: 12 books, one in each category
Tag: The Eclectic Reader Challenge 2015

Categories:

~~Retellings~~ -- Cinder by Marissa Meyer
A book set in a country starting with the letter S (eg. Sweden, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Slovakia)
~~PI Crime~~ -- Jackaby by William Ritter
~~A novel published before you were born~~ -- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
~~Contemporary romance~~ -- The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
~~Fiction for foodies~~ -- Lizzy and Jane by Katherine Reay
Microhistory (Non Fiction)
~~Science Fiction set in space~~ -- No Life But This by Anna Sheehan
~~Sports~~ -- On the Fence by Kasie West
~~Featuring diversity~~ -- A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam
~~Epistolary Fiction~~ -- Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay
~~Middle Grade/YA Adventure~~ -- The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Result:
10 out of 12 isn't bad, in my opinion, but still falls short of my goal.

I Love Library Books 2015
hosted by Gina at Book Dragon's Lair

Level: Early Reader
Goal: 9 books
Tag: I Love Library Books 2015

Result:
Oh, thank goodness. One I actually did well on! I read 32 library books -- success!

2015 EBooks Reading Challenge

hosted by Annette at Annette's Book Spot

Level: Megabytes

Goal: 25 books

Tag: 2015 EBook Reading Challenge

Result:
I mentioned when I signed up for this challenge that most of my reading was going to be electronic, and I was definitely right. I read 59 ebooks last year, which means, for those following along at home, that I only read 3 paper books last year. O_O

~*~*~

Now for my other news. I'm switching blogs! Y'all. I started a new blog over on WordPress, and because of Lack of Motivation, I unfortunately haven't gotten much traction on it yet. But you're welcome to go find me there! It's called Novel Diplomacy.

Things coming soon on it:
-Joining some 2016 Reading Challenges
-Possibly some book reviews
-General news about my life

I'll see you there!

A Long Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Sun, 15 Mar 2015 18:58:00 +0000

Summary: It should have been a short suspended-animation sleep. But this time Rose wakes up to find her past is long gone-- and her future full of peril.

Rosalinda Fitzroy has been asleep for sixty-two years when she is woken by a kiss. Locked away in the chemically induced slumber of a stasis tube in a forgotten subbasement, sixteen-year-old Rose slept straight through the Dark Times that killed millions and utterly changed the world she knew. Now, her parents and her first love are long gone, and Rose-- hailed upon her awakening as the long-lost heir to an interplanetary empire-- is thrust alone into a future in which she is viewed as either a freak or a threat. Desperate to put the past behind her and adapt to her new world, Rose finds herself drawn to the boy who kissed her awake, hoping that he can help her to start fresh. But when a deadly danger jeopardizes her fragile new existence, Rose must face the ghosts of her past with open eyes-- or be left without any future at all.

Review: What a great read. Things I liked about this book:

-The romantic subplot. It turned out in a way that I really appreciated, and I liked how it addressed the "instalove" trope.

-Rose's parents. Not in the sense that they were great people (because they weren't), but in the sense that they're great people to hate. Like, thoroughly despise. The more you learn about them, the more you realize how much they suck as people. I... I'm not sure why I like that about this book. Oh, yeah, I remember. Because it made me seem like an AWESOME parent in comparison. "Am I a bad mom because I let my kid eat Nilla Wafers for breakfast?" "I don't know, did you lock your kid in cryo-stasis for months at a time because she talked back to you?" "No. No I did not." "Then you're good."

-I realize this might be a controversial thing to be a big fan of, but I kind of liked how low the stakes were in terms of the Mysterious Assassin plotline. I mean, Anna Sheehan tried her best, but I was just never really worried about a big plastic guy who (in my head) was just not that fast on his feet.

-Otto. His relationship with Rose ended up being really sweet, in my opinion. (In this book, anyway.)

-Rose's journey into finding out who she is without her parents around. I liked watching her become herself, as she adjusted to not having to be who her parents made her be.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, bechdel-test, fluffy, is-or-would-be-a-good-movie, is-this-a-kissing-book, thought-provoking

Rating:

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 17:16:00 +0000

Summary: Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.

Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.

A groundbreaking work from a master, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human, and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out. It is a stirring, terrifying, and elegiac fable as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark.

Review: Oh, man. How much do I love Neil Gaiman's brand of creepy.

It's just... it's a delicious creepy. Neil Gaiman's magic is different than, say, J. K. Rowling's. No spells, no wands, no broomsticks. It's more like wicca (as I understand it)-- grounded and based on the Earth and its powers, and also really really old.

The only other book I've read by Gaiman is Coraline, and if you liked it, you'll LOVE this one.

Goodreads Shelves: bechdel-test, is-or-would-be-a-good-movie, my-kind-of-woman, thought-provoking

Rating:

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 16:53:00 +0000

Summary: Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble; it has been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems beside the point now.

Maybe that was always beside the point.

Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn't expect him to pack up the kids and go home without her.

When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.

That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts . . .

Is that what she’s supposed to do?

Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?

Review: So... The premise of this novel doesn't actually sound that amazing to me. I don't know what it is, but it just doesn't appeal. I read it anyway, though, and have since come to the conclusion that if Rainbow Rowell decided one day to write nothing but the back of cereal boxes, I'd read them.

She's that good.

What is it about her writing? I know she's wildly popular, but that popularity is backed up by a lot of talent.

I enjoyed Landline a lot. Not as much as Attachments, which had the benefit of an intriguing premise, but I didn't want to put it down. I felt for Georgie.

I liked Neal's characterization. I liked learning about him, and I like that he isn't just some faceless Romantic Leading Man.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, bechdel-test, fluffy, funny, is-this-a-kissing-book, my-kind-of-woman

Rating:

Fairest by Marissa Meyer

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 14:54:00 +0000

Summary: In this stunning bridge book between Cress and Winter in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles, Queen Levana’s story is finally told.

Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?

Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now.

Marissa Meyer spins yet another unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death. This extraordinary book includes full-color art and an excerpt from Winter, the next book in the Lunar Chronicles series.

Review: So the whole time I was reading this one, I kept thinking about Levana's obsession with Evret and comparing it to the way Scarlett O'Hara is obsessed with Ashleigh. Am I alone here?

Also, is it bad that my favorite part of Fairest was the preview of Winter at the end?

That being said, I liked it more than I thought it would. I liked the insight into Levana's psyche. It explained her motivations and her "how she got this way" story without ~~making~~ trying to make me sympathetic for her. This story actually provided a good explanation for my issue from back in Cinder, about why she practices such crappy diplomacy, which was nice.

Although this isn't my favorite of the Lunar Chronicles by a long shot, I'm sure some of the things I learned from it will be relevant in Winter-- and that makes it worthwhile.

PS. I remember seeing an animated version of the cover at some point... Does anybody know where I might have seen it? Am I making this up?

Goodreads Shelves: bechdel-test, fluffy, nook-ya, pretentious

Rating:

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Favorite Books From the Past 5 Years

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 13:28:00 +0000

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

So technically the prompt is "Top Ten Books You Would Classify As ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOKS from the past 3 years", but I don't think I would have ten "all-time favorites" from the last 3 (or even 5) years. Some, maybe. Because there have been some darn fine books published in that time. But ALL-TIME favorite? I don't know. So these are my top ten regular favorite books that have come out in the last 5 years, in order of publication:

1. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell -- This was my first Rainbow Rowell book; it was so very adorable.

2. A Long Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan -- Super good scifi book based on Sleeping Beauty.

3. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin -- I loved this one for Mara's delusions and her PTSD.

4. Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore -- This choice is kind of in honor of how much I love Graceling and Fire, although Bitterblue is a great one, as well.

5. Pivot Point by Kasie West -- This one is trippy good-- think X-Men meets Sliding Doors.

6. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman -- Oh, Neil Gaiman's creepy mind...

7. The Four Doors by Richard Paul Evans -- This book is so inspiring to me. It makes me want to jump up and take control of my life.

8. Cress by Marissa Meyer -- So far, Cress is my favorite of the Lunar Chronicles. Although that opinion might change after Winter comes out later this year.

9. The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet by Bernie Su and Kate Rorick -- Have you seen The Lizzie Bennet Diaries on YouTube? Why not...?!

10. Lizzy and Jane by Katherine Reay -- SUPER lovely novel with TONS of Austen influences.

And a bonus...

11. Texts from Jane Eyre by Mallory Ortberg -- I got this one for Christmas from my brother- and sister-in-law. Some of the text conversations are just ok; others are hysterical.

Then and Always by Dani Atkins

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 07:31:00 +0000

Summary: Rachel Wiltshire has everything she’s ever wanted: a close group of friends, a handsome boyfriend, and acceptance to the journalism program at her top-choice college. But one fateful evening, tragedy tears her world apart.

Five years later, Rachel returns home for the first time to celebrate her best friend’s wedding. Still coping with her grief, she can’t stop thinking about the bright future she almost had, if only that one night had gone differently. But when a sudden fall lands her in the hospital, Rachel wakes to find that her life has completely changed. Now the people she loves most are not the way she remembers them. Unable to trust her own recollections, Rachel tries to piece together what really happened, and not even she can predict the astonishing truth.

Review: Yeah... I don't know. I picked this one up because it was being compared to Sliding Doors, which is one of my favorite movies.

But it was a little... lacking, I guess? It's pretty predictable, she doesn't do much with her premise, and the "big twist" ending was a huge, depressing let-down.

It was an easy read, but I don't know that that's much of a compliment.

Goodreads Shelves: bechdel-test, fluffy, is-this-a-kissing-book, pretentious

Rating:

Lizzy and Jane by Katherine Reay

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 15:06:00 +0000

Summary: Lizzy and Jane never saw eye to eye. But when illness brings them together, they discover they may be more like Austen’s famous sisters after all.

Lizzy was only a teenager when her mother died of cancer. Shortly after, Lizzy fled from her home, her family, and her cherished nickname. After working tirelessly to hone her gift of creating magic in the kitchen, Elizabeth has climbed the culinary ladder to become the head chef of her own New York restaurant, Feast. But as her magic begins to elude her, Paul, Feast’s financial backer, brings in someone to share her responsibilities and her kitchen. So Elizabeth flees again.

In a desperate attempt to reconnect with her gift, Elizabeth returns home. But her plans are derailed when she learns that her estranged sister, Jane, is battling cancer. Elizabeth surprises everyone—including herself—when she decides to stay in Seattle and work to prepare healthy, sustaining meals for Jane as she undergoes chemotherapy. She also meets Nick and his winsome son, Matt, who, like Elizabeth, are trying to heal from the wounds of the past.

As she tends to Jane's needs, Elizabeth's powers begin to return to her, along with the family she left behind so long ago. Then Paul tries to entice her back to New York, and she is faced with a hard decision: stay and become Lizzy to her sister’s Jane, or return to New York and the life she worked so hard to create?

Review: What a great book. Seriously.

Things I love about this book:

-The food. Really, the food. Constant descriptions of deliciousness; it made me want to cook more. And eat more.

-The sister stuff. Although my relationship with my own sister isn't strained like this one, I definitely related to Elizabeth and her attempts to bond with her older sister.

-The literary references. Being an Austen fan, I appreciated how Austen's world and her novels are a big part of this novel without it being a "retelling." I like how there are other books besides Austen's that play a big part, too. And I really like how Elizabeth knew her source material well and related it all back to food.

-I LOVE watching Elizabeth find herself again and come back to what's really important in life. She has one set of priorities at the beginning of the novel, and over the course of the story, she slowly comes to reevaluate those priorities.

-I LOVE how Christian it is. Which is to say: Not that much. The main characters are all Christian, and every once in a while they talk about how God will take care of them and loves them and stuff, and that's pretty much it, besides the fact that there's no swearing or sex. Which I appreciated A LOT.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, bechdel-test, funny, is-or-would-be-a-good-movie, is-this-a-kissing-book, my-kind-of-woman, nook-book, snark-attack, thought-provoking

Rating:

This book fulfills category 6 of the Eclectic Reader Challenge, Fiction for Foodies.

Late to the Party -- Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Heroines, and Bookish Problems I Have

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Sat, 28 Feb 2015 14:26:00 +0000

So I always see the Top Ten Tuesday features on The Broke and the Bookish, but I never bother to go look at this week's topic ahead of time. Which means... well, apparently it means Tuesday fell on a Saturday this week. Anyway --

My Top Ten Favorite Heroines:

1. Pretty much all of Lois McMaster Bujold's heroines -- especially Cordelia, Ekaterin, and Ista.

2. Elizabeth Bennet, Elinor Dashwood, and Anne Eliot -- For different reasons, but these are three characters who know who they are, what they want, and what they're willing to do (or not do) to get it.

3. Jane Eyre -- Heck yes Jane Eyre. Speaking of knowing who you are and how far you'll go for what you want. This is a girl who Takes. Control. Of the Situation.

4. Ella from Ella Enchanted -- Ok, have we noticed a trend yet of women who fight back, take control, and don't accept what life gives them? Good, because Ella totally fits in with that trend as well. Cursed by a stupid fairy? Find her. She threatens to turn you into a squirrel? Just kidding, you speak a different language. (That you learned just 'cause, because you learn languages for fun.)

5. The Graceling girls -- Katsa, Fire, and Bitterblue all have a special place in my heart.

6. All the Lunar Chronicles girls -- I think my love/obsession with the Lunar Chronicles is well documented by now.

7. Buran from Seven Daughters and Seven Sons --My best friend handed me this book in high school, and it's still one of the things I love about her-- that she made me read this book. In fact, I'm tempted to go find myself a copy RIGHT NOW and reread it, because it's been way too long.

8. Frankie Landau-Banks -- Oh, Frankie. You're that girl in high school who I would have seen and really really wanted to be friends with, but I was too shy and awkward to actually TALK to you or anything. But good for you, fighting The Man and still wanting a man.

9. Matilda Wormwood -- When I was little, I wanted to be Matilda. I still do.

10. Jasmine from Bad Kitty -- I love Jas. So very much. She has a very clear idea of what she wants to do, she works hard to be good at it, she knows where she's going in life, she surrounds herself with supportive people who think she's amazing and want her to succeed... Yeah, I love Jas a TON.

Ok I thought I'd have trouble thinking of ten heroines I love. Clearly, I was being stupid.

Just for fun, I want to tell you about some of my Bookish Problems, which was last week's Top Ten Tuesday.

-Forgetting which ebooks I own. I keep buying ebooks and forgetting about them. On the one hand, this is annoying because I forget about them and don't remember to go back and read them. On the other hand, though, it's makes for a kind of nice surprise whenever I get around to looking through my ecollection. (However, confession: It's harder for me to browse e-collections of books than physical collections of books. Something about being able to SEE the books on my shelf just makes it so much easier.)

On the subject of physical books, though...
-Moving. I don't know if you know this about me, but I move constantly. In the last two years, I've moved four times, and I'm moving again in two weeks. And all that moving tends to wreak havoc on my book collection. I've got books in storage, books almost out of storage, books in boxes, books on shelves... These days, because it's all so pell-mell, I mostly rely on my e-books. (In fact, I've only read two paper books since September.) But someday, my friends. Some day.

-My 18-month-old daughter keeps ripping up her board books. She keeps tearing the spine off, which occasionally leads to pages falling off. I don't know how to stop her, and it breaks my heart that she can't look at books unsupervised anymore.

One last one, which isn't about books themselves, but about content and writing styles.
-I hate it when I finish a book that's written in the first person and I can't remember the main character's name. Seriously. If I have to go back to the synopsis and look it up, what's the point of even having read the book? Just say people's names a little more, authors!

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 16:13:00 +0000

Summary: Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren't so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

Review: Ok, first things first: There is a LOT of swearing in this book, and a lot of teenage sex. So go into it with that knowledge.

That being said, I actually really liked this book. Even though Bianca's coping strategy isn't one I would try or recommend, I can totally understand where she's coming from. When there's an issue you want to avoid dealing with or thinking about, finding something to distract yourself can help you stay sane. But it can also be unhealthy to constantly escape from your problems instead of dealing with them or solving them, which Bianca came to discover. I felt like her journey was believable and relatable, and I was happy to follow along with her.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, bechdel-test, fluffy, funny, is-a-movie, is-this-a-kissing-book, snark-attack

Rating:

Burial Rites by Hanna Kent

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 10:01:00 +0000

Summary: A brilliant literary debut, inspired by a true story: the final days of a young woman accused of murder in Iceland in 1829.

Set against Iceland's stark landscape, Hannah Kent brings to vivid life the story of Agnes, who, charged with the brutal murder of her former master, is sent to an isolated farm to await execution.

Horrified at the prospect of housing a convicted murderer, the family at first avoids Agnes. Only Tóti, a priest Agnes has mysteriously chosen to be her spiritual guardian, seeks to understand her. But as Agnes's death looms, the farmer's wife and their daughters learn there is another side to the sensational story they've heard.

Riveting and rich with lyricism, BURIAL RITES evokes a dramatic existence in a distant time and place, and asks the question, how can one woman hope to endure when her life depends upon the stories told by others?

Review: What a lovely book. Reading the description, I'm not really sure why I wanted to read it. It doesn't really sound like my kind of book, but when I thought about what kind of book it would be like, it really did sound like something I'd enjoy.

And I did enjoy it. Despite the problems I had with it, which come to me the more I think about it, now that the book's done. At the time, it was a very enjoyable book to read. It was interesting and riveting, and I'd read more by Hannah Kent.

Although. Although. I don't know. It's a little convenient, isn't it, that the spurned lover of a murdered man has such a convenient story of how little she was involved with the actual murder, don't you think? But the more I think about it, the more sense it makes. Because she goes on and on in the beginning about how she's gonna protect herself and not open up and tell people the truth about who she is. But it didn't seem to me like it took much effort to get her to change her mind and start spilling her guts. UNTIL I remember one of the first things she says to Reverend Tóti, which is, "I could tell you anything."

Which makes me think, maybe she's not such a reliable narrator after all? And few things intrigue me more than an unreliable narrator.

I do wish there had been more of the main story. The first half of the book is about 70/30, but the second half (basically once she gets to the juicy part of the flashbacks), that ratio is pretty much reversed. I guess because there's only so much interesting stuff that can happen on a small farm in the middle of nowhere, beyond listening to a convicted murderer tell a crazy story about the guy she supposedly murdered.

Overall, I was a big fan. I liked reading about Agnes's gradual acceptance into her temporary home, and I liked getting glimpses into her mind. Despite the grisly subject matter, it was a nice book to read.

Goodreads Shelves: bechdel-test, is-or-would-be-a-good-movie, my-kind-of-woman, thought-provoking

Rating:

I need to stop

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 16:31:00 +0000

So I got a Kindle this week, and now I... I can't stop buying books for it.

I mean, I know that it's important to load up my new device, but I DO already have a Nook, and downloading library books onto the Kindle is surprisingly easy.

It's just...

There are so many cheap books!!

And I keep buying them...

I've also been buying Nook books. My defense is two-fold: I rarely pay more than $3 for them (3 of them were free, in fact), and also I got a $5 gift card from B&N this week (which is why I splurged on Dear Mr. Knightley, which I'm excited about after reading Lizzy and Jane a couple weeks ago).

PS. It's been less than a week, and I feel a little guilty, but... ... I think I love my Kindle more. I KNOW, RIGHT? I've been a Nook girl for FOUR YEARS, and all of a sudden I switch teams at the DROP OF A HAT!? What. Is. Wrong. With. Me.

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 15:54:00 +0000

Summary: On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born, the third child of a wealthy English banker and his wife. Sadly, she dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in any number of ways. Clearly history (and Kate Atkinson) have plans for her: In Ursula rests nothing less than the fate of civilization.

Wildly inventive, darkly comic, startlingly poignant — this is Kate Atkinson at her absolute best, playing with time and history, telling a story that is breathtaking for both its audacity and its endless satisfactions.

Review: It's been about a week since I finished this book, and I finally feel like I have enough distance to talk about it.

It's a beautiful book. It's extremely well thought-out, and very skillfully written. The story is incredibly complex, and I have to give Atkinson props for keeping it all straight.

I have a couple of things to talk about-- I feel like the summary gives the promise of closure for the book, which the book then fails to deliver. The teaser at the beginning of the novel also did that, but I liked where she took it later on.

Also, I'm super bummed about Ursula's search for love. Clearly it's not as high a priority for Ursula herself, and this book also doesn't have ANY examples of actual True Love (except with Ursula's siblings -- the only constant is how close she is with her older sister and younger brother), but I was always waiting for her to fall in love and stay in love. Although that's also the point of the book, I think -- nothing's forever.

My other big issue was the fact that it's set, for the most part, during World War II. I'm just not that into stories about WWII -- that doesn't make me a bad person, does it? It's not that they're not interesting, because they are, but I'm just not that into them.

[SPOILER] I do have one more spoilerly thing to talk about -- I saw a theory on Goodreads that I really liked, that says that maybe her mother can start over again like Ursula can, and she can remember her past lives sometimes, too. Because of the part at the end where she says, Practice makes perfect. I really like that idea, because it explains how Ursula's not the only thing that changes every time-- outside factors are affected by other people having more chances as well. Although that sends me down a depressing theological rabbit-hole when I contemplate that Atkinson seems to be saying that we all just repeat our lives-- what, forever and ever? There's no end, just this, always? Ugh, it makes me tired just to think about. (PS, if other people besides Ursula could remember past lives the way she could, don't you think there would be a huge mob at the hospital the day Hitler was born? It reminds me of Asimov's idea that if time travel were possible we'd be surrounded by tourists from the future.)[/SPOILER]

Anyway, clearly this book gave me a lot to think about.

Goodreads Shelves: bechdel-test, funny, is-this-a-kissing-book, my-kind-of-woman, pretentious, snark-attack, thought-provoking

Rating:

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Fri, 13 Feb 2015 04:44:00 +0000

Summary: “Every war has turning points and every person too.”

Fifteen-year-old Daisy is sent from Manhattan to England to visit her aunt and cousins she’s never met: three boys near her age, and their little sister. Her aunt goes away on business soon after Daisy arrives. The next day bombs go off as London is attacked and occupied by an unnamed enemy.

As power fails, and systems fail, the farm becomes more isolated. Despite the war, it’s a kind of Eden, with no adults in charge and no rules, a place where Daisy’s uncanny bond with her cousins grows into something rare and extraordinary. But the war is everywhere, and Daisy and her cousins must lead each other into a world that is unknown in the scariest, most elemental way.

A riveting and astonishing story.

Review: The book itself is pretty good. It's short, it's a quick read, and it's nicely written. It took me a while to get into the style, because at first the fact that she didn't use quotation marks for dialogue drove me nuts -- I couldn't tell when someone was actually saying something, or just thinking it. Although she did a good job giving me context clues, so I could figure it out pretty easily.

It was a little much, to create a story based on a fictional modern-day world war and then add in the telepathy on top of it, but at the same time, I LOVE stories about mind readers. (Except a certain vampire mind reader, but I at least love to hate that story.) So I was on board with that. In fact, I'm a pretty big fan of the whole book.

Except.

Except.

Except for the part where she's in love with her cousin. Because, ick. Like, really really big ick. I mean, was that necessary, Meg Rosoff? Seriously?

So yeah. That's my review in a nutshell. It's a great book, except for the thing with Daisy and her cousin.

Goodreads Shelves: bechdel-test, is-a-movie, is-this-a-kissing-book, pretentious

Rating:

2014 Wrap-Up

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 04:15:00 +0000

So last year I participated in the 2014 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge. My goal, at the beginning of the year, was 15-19 books, and my goal for the 2014 Goodreads Reading Challenge was 25.

Halfway through the year, though, I was doing so well that I adjusted my Goodreads goal to 50 books.

And I made it! I read exactly 50 books.

I only read one that doesn't count towards the 2014 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge -- Rickshaw Girl was only 96 pages. So my official count for the challenge was 49 -- I beat my 2013 total by 40 books!

Yeah, that feat will probably not be repeated this year. Still. Pretty good.

Jamie's 2014-outdo-yourself-challenge book montage

Jamie's favorite books »

Paper Towns by John Green

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 04:55:00 +0000

Summary: Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life–dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge–he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues–and they’re for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew.

Review: It's like this: When I'm constantly hearing people talk about something, be it a book or a movie or whatever, I can only go so long before I need to check it out for myself.

Which is basically why I read Paper Towns. John Green kept filming vlogbrothers videos from the set of the movie, so I figured it was time to read the book. (Which is also why I bought and reread The Fault in Our Stars that one time.)

I think I've mentioned previously that I'm kind of over John Green's Preciously Clever Teenagers. But mostly because I used to be one, and those days are pretty much over for me (what with my ten-year high school reunion coming up this summer. Seriously, where does the time go?). In fact, I was thinking how weird it is that there are always these characters with a nickname that has literally nothing to do with their name, but every single person calls them by that nickname and knows some weird story about why they got it. And I was like, who is like that? Who even does that? And then I remembered a friend I went to high school with who went by Hot Sauce for no apparent reason but every single person called him that. And also a kid who was such a big fan of University of Alabama football that he went by Bama, and there were kids who didn't even know that his real name was Josh. So... John Green gets a pass, because I guess that really happens.

Paper Towns was interesting. It said some things to me about people, and about how you never really know what's going on inside someone's head. It also kind of made me want to read Leaves of Grass, maybe?

I liked Margo. I liked how Quentin worked so hard to figure her out, and he thought he saw beyond what she showed people and saw deep into her soul and stuff, and then at the end he realized that he'd done it wrong and read too much into a ton of random stuff. Margo, as seen by Quentin, is a lot more real and complicated than she seems, but also less mysterious and unattainable than she seems, too.

Random thought: I HATE books that are written in first person, but you don't know what the main character's name is. Like, after you've finished it. Have you read books like that? Where you can't remember the MC's name because the book was in first person and they just didn't say their name enough? This book isn't like that, although it's kind of close: I kept getting thrown off every time somebody called him "Q," because he called himself Quentin too much. I always thought of that as his name. Anyway.

I've said it before, but bear with me: I think I'm getting a little too old for YA books. My unofficial New Year resolution (I know it's February, but I finished Paper Towns back in December) is to read more grown-up type books. (Spoiler: So far it's going well.)

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, bechdel-test, fluffy, funny, is-a-movie, is-this-a-kissing-book, my-kind-of-woman, nook-ya, pretentious, thought-provoking

Rating:

Bumped and Thumped by Megan McCafferty

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Wed, 28 Jan 2015 05:40:00 +0000

Summary: When a virus makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized members of society. Girls sport fake baby bumps and the school cafeteria stocks folic-acid-infused food.

Sixteen-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony were separated at birth and have never met until the day Harmony shows up on Melody’s doorstep. Up to now, the twins have followed completely opposite paths. Melody has scored an enviable conception contract with a couple called the Jaydens. While they are searching for the perfect partner for Melody to bump with, she is fighting her attraction to her best friend, Zen, who is way too short for the job.

Harmony has spent her whole life in Goodside, a religious community, preparing to be a wife and mother. She believes her calling is to convince Melody that pregging for profit is a sin. But Harmony has secrets of her own that she is running from.

When Melody is finally matched with the world-famous, genetically flawless Jondoe, both girls’ lives are changed forever. A case of mistaken identity takes them on a journey neither could have ever imagined, one that makes Melody and Harmony realize they have so much more than just DNA in common.

From New York Times bestselling author Megan McCafferty comes a strikingly original look at friendship, love, and sisterhood—in a future that is eerily believable.

Review: Like my review of the first two Jessica Darling books that I put up the other day, I'm combining these two novels into one review. Mostly so I don't get them mixed up during two separate reviews, because they're pretty much just one story split into two books.

Also like the Jessica Darling books, I read these because I bought the first one for 1.99 a couple months ago (years ago?) and finally got around to reading it, followed by being interested enough to check out the second book from the library.

In case you didn't catch the other similarity, let me point it out: They're also by the same author, Megan McCafferty.

All that being said, let's talk about the books now.

So, I'm not sure exactly WHY I was surprised, considering the premise of the book as stated by the summary above, but I was in fact surprised by how much sex there was in these books. Not that there was a ton of sex, because there actually wasn't very much, but they talked about it a lot. Like, A LOT. And I wasn't really on board.

Although it was intentional (or else why contrive such a ridiculous virus that makes artificial insemination impossible?), I think it took away from the social issues that McCafferty was trying to highlight. In fact, with artificial insemination in play, the entire issue of paying girls to have babies would have been a lot less uncomfortable (on paper), because then you weren't paying them to have sex.

Of course, without it in play you have the issue of True Love and stuff...

So anyway, what I'm trying to say here is that clearly these books have an intriguing premise, but I wasn't terribly impressed with where it went. Among other things, Melody and Harmony weren't particularly compelling characters, and I wasn't a fan of the Insta-love.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, bechdel-test, fluffy, is-or-would-be-a-good-movie, is-this-a-kissing-book, thought-provoking

Rating:

Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 15:33:00 +0000

Summary: Sparkling white snowdrifts, beautiful presents wrapped in ribbons, and multicolored lights glittering in the night through the falling snow. A Christmas Eve snowstorm transforms one small town into a romantic haven, the kind you see only in movies. Well, kinda. After all, a cold and wet hike from a stranded train through the middle of nowhere would not normally end with a delicious kiss from a charming stranger. And no one would think that a trip to the Waffle House through four feet of snow would lead to love with an old friend. Or that the way back to true love begins with a painfully early morning shift at Starbucks. Thanks to three of today’s bestselling teen authors—John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle—the magic of the holidays shines on these hilarious and charming interconnected tales of love, romance, and breathtaking kisses.

Review: What to do here? Let's take this one at a time:

"The Jubilee Express" by Maureen Johnson - This one was cute. I really liked the thing about her parents' hardcore miniatures collection; it was a fun detail that definitely added to the cuteness factor. I liked the love story, although the more I read and older I get, the less patience I have with super-quick love stories like this one. Although that's the nature of story collections like these, so I guess it's my own fault.

"A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle" by John Green - I think John Green sometimes overrates the charm of clever teenagers, which is probably just proof that I'm not a clever teenager anymore. I also found this story a bit unbelievable, because too many things Happened, and it felt like they were just Happening for Making the Story Longer purposes.

"The Patron Saint of Pigs" by Lauren Myracle - Aaand this is where it all fell apart for me. Although there was some charm to it, I couldn't really take it seriously. This girl is SUPER self-absorbed, and nobody's ever told her that before? And then this one thing happens, and suddenly a switch is flipped and now she's not conceited any more? How convenient.
(As a side note: The only other thing I've read by Lauren Myracle is her story in Prom Nights From Hell, which already left a bad taste in my mouth bc it's not even an original story -- it's just a rehashed, prom-themed version of "The Monkey's Paw".) I did like the wrap-up scene at the end, with all the characters from the other stories, just for the sake of closure.

Overall, it was nice to read a Christmas book at Christmas time (because I wasn't really feeling Christmas time -- Christmas isn't ubiquitous here like it is in the US), but most of the good feelings I have for it are for sentiment's sake, not based on its own merits.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, bechdel-test, fluffy, is-this-a-kissing-book

Rating:

Challenge Accepted! 2015 EBook Reading Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Sat, 17 Jan 2015 16:06:00 +0000

Ok, one more reading challenge.

2015 EBook Reading Challenge
Hosted by Annette at Annette's Book Spot

Since I do most of my reading on my Nook these days, I've actually been looking for a challenge like this one (albeit not very hard). So when I noticed the other day that one of the blogs I follow had signed up for it, I decided to go for it.

Level: Megabytes

Goal: 25 ebooks

Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings by Megan McCafferty

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 07:00:00 +0000

Summary: Sloppy Firsts: “My parents suck ass. Banning me from the phone and restricting my computer privileges are the most tyrannical parental gestures I can think of. Don’t they realize that Hope’s the only one who keeps me sane? . . . I don’t see how things could get any worse.”

When her best friend, Hope Weaver, moves away from Pineville, New Jersey, hyperobservant sixteen-year-old Jessica Darling is devastated. A fish out of water at school and a stranger at home, Jessica feels more lost than ever now that the only person with whom she could really communicate has gone. How is she supposed to deal with the boy- and shopping-crazy girls at school, her dad’s obsession with her track meets, her mother salivating over big sister Bethany’s lavish wedding, and her nonexistent love life?

A fresh, funny, utterly compelling fiction debut by first-time novelist Megan McCafferty, Sloppy Firsts is an insightful, true-to-life look at Jessica’s predicament as she embarks on another year of teenage torment--from the dark days of Hope’s departure through her months as a type-A personality turned insomniac to her completely mixed-up feelings about Marcus Flutie, the intelligent and mysterious “Dreg” who works his way into her heart. Like a John Hughes for the twenty-first century, Megan McCafferty taps into the inherent humor and drama of the teen experience. This poignant, hilarious novel is sure to appeal to readers who are still going through it, as well as those who are grateful that they don’t have to go back and grow up all over again.

Second Helpings: "Knowing that I've just done something that will take decades off my parents' lives with worry, you'll excuse me for not getting into the fa-la-la-la-la Yuletide spirit this year. . . . The only difference between Christmas 2001 and Christmas 2000 is that I don't have a visit from Hope to look forward to. And Bethany has already packed on some major fetal flab. Oh, and now Gladdie doesn't need to ask a bizillion questions about my boyfriend, because she's already gotten the dirt from you know who."

Jessica Darling is up in arms again in this much-anticipated, hilarious sequel to Sloppy Firsts. This time, the hyperobservant, angst-ridden teenager is going through the social and emotional ordeal of her senior year at Pineville High. Not only does the mysterious and oh-so-compelling Marcus Flutie continue to distract Jessica, but her best friend, Hope, still lives in another state, and she can't seem to escape the clutches of the Clueless Crew, her annoying so-called friends. To top it off, Jessica's parents won't get off her butt about choosing a college, and her sister Bethany's pregnancy is causing a big stir in the Darling household.

With keen intelligence, sardonic wit, and ingenious comedic timing, Megan McCafferty again re-creates the tumultuous world of today's fast-moving and sophisticated teens. Fans of Sloppy Firsts will be reunited with their favorite characters and also introduced to the fresh new faces that have entered Jess's life, including the hot creative writing teacher at her summer college prep program and her feisty, tell-it-like-it-is grandmother Gladdie. But most of all, readers will finally have the answers to all of their burgeoning questions, and then some: Will Jessica crack under the pressure of senioritis? Will her unresolved feelings for Marcus wreak havoc on her love life? Will Hope ever come back to Pineville? Fall in love with saucy, irreverent Jessica all over again in this wonderful sequel to a book that critics and readers alike hailed as the best high school novel in years.

Review: Ok. So I read these two books within a couple days of each other, and I'm worried that if I try to review them separately, they'll just blend together in my mind. So I'm just gonna do one review.

I've been hearing about the Jessica Darling books and Marcus Flutie for quite a while, thanks to the girls over at Forever Young Adult. And after reading the first two books in the series, I can certainly see why. Jessica is exactly the kind of girl they love over there. She's honest, smart, insecure, snarky, and not afraid of swearing or drinking. She's obsessed with a boy she can never have, and also with her best friend moving away.

So in that sense, these were good books. They're funny and honest and exciting. And I liked seeing Jessica learn to stand up for herself and create an identity for herself that went beyond missing her best friend or feeling like an outsider in her own family.

And I really REALLY liked that the first book was one calendar year. So many books are based on the school year, and reading a book that took place from January to December was SUPER refreshing.

Based on reviews I've read, the first two in the series are the best, so I don't have any plans to continue. But I don't regret the $1.99 I spent on Sloppy Firsts, or the couple days I spent reading these.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, bechdel-test, fluffy, funny, is-this-a-kissing-book, nook-ya, snark-attack

Rating:

A Time to Love by Barbara Cameron

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 17:11:00 +0000

Summary: War correspondent Jennie King thinks she s just a temporary guest in her grandmother s Amish community while she recuperates from the devastating injuries sustained in a car bomb attack that changed her world. But when she meets Matthew Bontrager, the man she had a crush on as a teenager, she wonders if God has a new plan for her. Jennie has emotional and physical scars and though she feels she has come home to this man and this place, she's not sure she can bridge the difference between their worlds.

Review: Ok. So I've heard about this Amish Romance trend, and I was vaguely interested in giving it a try. And I had this book sitting around in my Nook. So I read it.

SUPER underwhelmed. Like, SO MANY THINGS about this book just don't make sense. I don't even know where to begin.

So you spent a summer or two here when you were a teenager, and that has prepared you to completely overhaul your life? And now you're gonna marry this guy you haven't seen in ten years and only met again a couple months ago? And you're some foreign war correspondent who's dedicated to helping people, but now you can somehow help children in war zones from this sleepy Amish town with no electricity?

I just... I can't even.

Like, this book had so few redeeming qualities that I can't even think of any now.

Maybe there are better books to read that fit in with this trend?

Goodreads Shelves: bechdel-test, fluffy, is-this-a-kissing-book, nook-book

Rating:

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 07:30:00 +0000

Summary: After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, and creditors are calling. He has also just broken up with his longtime girlfriend and is living in his office.

Then John Bristow walks through his door with an amazing story: His sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry, known to her friends as the Cuckoo, famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.

You may think you know detectives, but you've never met one quite like Strike. You may think you know about the wealthy and famous, but you've never seen them under an investigation like this.

Review: So I was excited about this one, but also iffy. On the one hand, I'm a fan of the Harry Potter books, so I was expecting great things. But on the other hand, I've read some reviews that were pretty underwhelmed. So I went in with mixed expectations.

And I liked it! It wasn't as groundbreaking as the HP books, but it was a solid mystery novel. I liked Strike; he's smart and tough and also a little insecure, and he's a really good PI. I liked his relationship with Robin -- Robin was great. I'm such a fan of Robin. (Although I really REALLY don't want them to have a romantic relationship. Am I alone in this? I LIKE their dynamic too much to be interested in them doing something as boring as falling in love.)

Plot-wise, it was pretty good. I'm not usually very interested in guessing whodunit, because I tend to be wrong. (And because I don't like to guess, I don't get better at it. It's a vicious cycle.) But I felt like all the little details and clues got explained really well -- it was intricate enough to actually describe as intricate, which I liked a lot.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, bechdel-test, is-or-would-be-a-good-movie, my-kind-of-woman

Rating:

2015 Challenges

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Tue, 30 Dec 2014 15:05:00 +0000

Well friends, I had such a great time with the 2014 Outdo Yourself Challenge that I want to find a couple more to do this year!

Here are my challenges, along with my goals:

2015 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge
Hosted by Brianna at The Book Vixen

So last year I really REALLY outdid myself. My official 2013 count was 9, and it looks like my 2014 count is going to be at least 50. This challenge was exactly the kind of jumpstart I needed to get myself reading again. I don't know that I'm gonna try TOO hard to outdo my total again, because there are a lot of other things in my life that I need to focus on besides just reading, so I'm gonna stick with the lowest level right now.

Level: Getting My Heart Rate Up
Goal: 51-55 books

Newbery Reading Challenge 2015
Hosted by Julie at Smiling Shelves

I feel like I've been doing a lot of cotton candy reading lately. This next year I want to try to read more books with substance, and one of the places I'm gonna start is with Newbery winners. Julie grades on a points system - 3 for Newbery Medal Winners, 2 for Newbery Honor Books, and 1 for Caldecott Medal Winners. I'm not shooting for quantity as much as substance, so again, I'm choosing the lowest level. For now.

Level: L'Engle
Goal: 15-29 points

The Eclectic Reader Challenge 2015
Hosted by Shellyrae at Book'd Out

I also want to diversify. I feel like I constantly read the same book over and over these days, so in the interest of not doing that... here I am. Shellyrae has picked out several genres, and I get to pick a book for each one.

Goal: 12 books, one in each category

I Love Library Books 2015
hosted by Gina at Book Dragon's Lair

So those of you who know me in real life (or pay very close attention, because I've mentioned it on the blog a couple times now) know that I recently moved to Bangladesh. Which, among other changes, kind of restricts my access to paper books. I have what I brought with me, and I know of a couple "libraries" (community shelves where people just leave what they want to share). So thank goodness for my Nook, and thank goodness for OverDrive! Luckily I still have a library card from the States, and I can use it to check out ebooks on my library's website. (Or else I'd have to plan on paying Barnes and Noble a fortune in Nook Books.) I've been here for a month, and I've already checked out four. So I'm really excited about Gina's challenge to read books from the library. Even though I already know I'm gonna use it plenty, I DO still have a ton of books on my Nook that I own and want to read, so like my other challenges, I'm gonna start small and reserve the right to go up a level (or two) later.

Level: Early Reader
Goal: 9 books

Wish me luck, guys! I'm really excited for 2015!

The View From Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Tue, 30 Dec 2014 15:03:00 +0000

Summary: HOW HAD MRS. OLINSKI CHOSEN her sixth-grade Academic Bowl team? She had a number of answers. But were any of them true? How had she really chosen Noah and Nadia and Ethan and Julian? And why did they make such a good team?

It was a surprise to a lot of people when Mrs. Olinski's team won the sixth-grade Academic Bowl contest at Epiphany Middle School. It was an even bigger surprise when they beat the seventh grade and the eighth grade, too. And when they went on to even greater victories, everyone began to ask: How did it happen?

It happened at least partly because Noah had been the best man (quite by accident) at the wedding of Ethan's grandmother and Nadia's grandfather. It happened because Nadia discovered that she could not let a lot of baby turtles die. It happened when Ethan could not let Julian face disaster alone. And it happened because Julian valued something important in himself and saw in the other three something he also valued.

Mrs. Olinski, returning to teaching after having been injured in an automobile accident, found that her Academic Bowl team became her answer to finding confidence and success. What she did not know, at least at first, was that her team knew more than she did the answer to why they had been chosen.

This is a tale about a team, a class, a school, a series of contests and, set in the midst of this, four jewel-like short stories -- one for each of the team members -- that ask questions and demonstrate surprising answers.

Review: So it's been years and years since the first time I read this one. I remember liking it a whole lot, and when I saw the NookBook on sale on Barnes and Noble, I jumped at the chance to get it.

I'm not sure it was as amazing as I remember it? Like, I like the premise, and it's well executed and stuff. But... I dunno. It felt a little simplified, maybe? Like it was written for children, perhaps? (Heeeeyy....)

It does have elements of which I'm a fan, though. Quiz-bowl teams, which brings back fond high school memories. A ragtag group of friends. And I liked the way they helped their teacher get her confidence back.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, bechdel-test, i-own-it, is-or-would-be-a-good-movie, my-kind-of-woman, thought-provoking

Rating:

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie) — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 05:19:00 +0000

Summary: "Tessa Gray should be happy—aren't all brides happy? Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her."

Review: Soooo... ok. Done with that, then.

So I actually read Clockwork Prince almost three years ago, which explains why I was so confused while reading Clockwork Princess. Apparently it didn't make TOO much of an impression, because I really don't remember it very well. Clare handled the exposition well, I thought; there was just enough that I still caught most of what was going on, but not so much that it would have been annoying if I'd read the first two books recently (which is something I also liked about the Mortal Instruments series, come to think of it).

I don't really know what to say about this one though. I think I'm kind of over the whole Shadowhunter thing. I mean, I wanted to finish the book, and it was enjoyable, but I didn't feel a whole lot of emotion while reading it. I was just finishing it for the sake of finishing it.

I wasn't very invested in the Jem/Will/Tessa love triangle. I think Jem had a lot more personality earlier in the series, maybe? (Like I said, it's been a while.) He was really vanilla in this book. And there was a lot more tell than show in his relationships with Will and Tessa; they all spent a lot more time talking about their relationships than actually having them.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, bechdel-test, fluffy, funny, is-this-a-kissing-book, my-kind-of-woman, nook-ya

Rating: