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January Reading Wrap Up

2012 is off to a good start, as far as reading goes.  Other areas aren’t as fabulous– losing our family’s kitty was the think I’ll remember most about this month.  With other family excitement as well as losing my MP3 player, it’s a wonder I read anything at all.  I did, and much of it was really good.

So, I start off 2012 with 12 books read:  4 paper books, 2 Nook books, and 6 audio books.

Here”s the summary!

Paper Books

  1. The Gap Year by Sarah Bird
  2. Dreaming of Mr. Darcy (Austen Addicts #2) by Victoria Connelly
  3. The Rook by Daniel O’Malley
  4. Gun Games (Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus #20) by Faye Kellerman

Nook Books

  1. Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth
  2. Wish Upon a Star by Sarah Morgan

Audio Books

  1. Crossed (Matched #2) by Ally Condie
  2. Edge of Evil (Ali Reynolds #1) by J.A. Jance
  3. Hot Rocks by Nora Roberts
  4. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
  5. A Trick of the Light (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #7) by Louise Penny
  6. Bury Your Dead (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #6) by Louise Penny

I also have two books I didn’t finish.  One I checked out from the library as an e-book, and it expired before I finished reading it, largely because I was trying to finish the other DNF book before book club.  Since I didn’t want to do that, I listened to the two Louise Penny books instead, because they were really, really good.

This was an average month, quantity-wise, but it was amazing as far as quality.  My favorite book of the month was The Rook, followed closely by Ready Player One, but the two Louise Penny books could easily have taken than honor many other months, Divergent really impressed me, and I really liked The Gap Year.

I started getting back on track with reviews (beyond the 4 linked above, I have two more mini-reviews I wrote this month), but then backslid a bit.  I think February will be better.

How was your January?  What are you looking forward to in February?

 
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Posted by on February 2, 2012 in books, summary

 

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My Daughter’s Top 11 books of 2011

My 13 year old daughter picked her top books she read for the first time last year (she’s a voracious reader, and had plenty to choose from!).  Links point to Goodreads, except for Audition, which she reviewed here.

 
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Posted by on January 15, 2012 in books, Guest post, summary

 

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A look back at 2011

This blog may have been fizzling a bit towards the end of 2011, but I’ve still been reading lots of books, and I’m hoping for an even better year here in 2012!

I went back and forth on what to choose for my top books of 2011, and on how to present them.  I’m going to just present a list of books alphabetically by author, and pull out one I want to flag as my favorite– not necessarily the best, but the one that I just found delightful!

These aren’t necessarily books that were published in 2011, but books that I read for the first time last year.

My top reads:

  1. The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown (2011)
  2. Science Fair Season by Judy Dutton (2011)
  3. Horns by Joe Hill (2010)
  4. Pirate King by Laurie R. King (2011)
  5. Original Sin by Beth McMullen (2011)
  6. Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman (2011)
  7. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (2011)
  8. The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond (2007)
  9. Falling Together by Marisa de los Santos (2011)
  10. The Cat, the Professor, and the Poison by Leann Sweeney (2010)

Honorable Mentions go to those that I had a really hard time not putting on this list– I probably could legitimately made it  a top 20 list, and not differentiated between those and these.:  The Last Unicorn (Graphic Novel) by Peter S. Beagle, Peter Gillis, Renae De Liz, & Ray Dillon (2011), Stiltsville by Susanna Daniel (2010),   Where She Went by Gayle Forman (2011), A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (2011), Up From the Blue by Susan Henderson (2010), The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist (2006), Defending Jacob by William Landay (2012), I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett (2010), Devotion by Dani Shapiro (2010), and The Tapestry of Love by Rosy Thornton (2010),

The book I want to pull out as my favorite of 2011 is Original Sin by Beth McMullen.  I was delighted by this book as a crazy spy adventure, and I laughed out loud many times at the wording and the situations.  Even more than that, I loved the look at the change of self-identity with a major life change– in this case, motherhood, but other events can and do prompt a total change in how you see yourself.  I haven’t seen this book around the Internet much, so I want to encourage more people to pick this book up and read it.  (Ironically, there was another book by the same name published around the same time, so keep an eye on the author’s name on this one!).

I read 169 books total last year.  This is a few less than the previous year, which doesn’t particularly bother me.  I want to push myself to keep reading a variety of books  I did do that this year.

At the end of the year, I started cutting down on books I received for review..  I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the first part of the year is significantly overrepresented on my lists above.  60 of the books  (36%) I read this year were review copies. 70% of my top 10 list and 65% of my top 20 list were review books.  Between TLC Book Tours, NetGalley, various publicists and the publishers themselves, I find out about books that I wouldn’t have known about otherwise, and as long as I remain cautious about what I accept, I think I’ll be thrilled to be in this position.

I read 24 books for my two book clubs. Of my top 20 books of the year, 4 of them were books I read for one of them.  Interestingly, 3 of my bottom 10 were also book club books.  4 of the bottom 10 were review books, and 3 of those were tour books.  That makes sense, since if it’s a book I’m reading for myself, I have the option of giving up on it and picking up something that is a better match.

Last year, I had a strong set of non-fiction books in my favorites of the year,   I made an effort to continue reading more non-fiction this year.  I’m glad I did, but only one made my top 10, (and just one more in the next 10).  I think I want to make an effort to track down better recommendations for non-fiction, to try to find more great books for next years lists.

I don’t have any real changes planned for my reading.  I do want to get back to posting more regularly.  I also want to be realistic about my expectations. My daughter is starting her rhythmic gymnastics season, I’m planning on taking one or two classes starting in February, so I don’t want to get too ambitious and not be able to meet my goals.

I hope every one of you had a good 2011 and has an even better 2012!

 
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Posted by on January 1, 2012 in blogging, books, summary

 

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November wrap-up

November in HawaiiWell, I didn’t think that November would be a less productive month than October, but it was. I’m still OK with how many books I read, but the number of reviews is very disappointing to me.  I definitely had my reasons (including a very nice but unproductive week in Hawaii– anyone want to see pictures?).  I hope that I’ll do better in December, but I doubt I’ll return to normal until January.

So, what I read:

Paper Books:

  1. Bring Me Home for Christmas (Virgin River #16) by Robyn Carr
  2. Hot Water by Erin Brockovich, C.J. Lyons

Nook Books

  1. Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson
  2. Steampunk!: An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories edited by Kelly Link
  3. A Regular Guy by Mona Simpson

Audio Books:

  1. Snuff (Discworld #39) by Terry Pratchett
  2. Fool Moon (The Dresden Files #2) by Jim Butcher
  3. A Royal Pain (Her Royal Spyness Mysteries #2) by Rhys Bowen
  4. The Complaints (Malcolm Fox #1) by Ian Rankin
  5. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
  6. When Beauty Tamed the Beast (Happily Ever Afters #2) by Eloisa James

I’m not sure any of these books were real standouts, although I really enjoyed Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand (and it made for great book club discussion) and Bring Me Home for Christmas, When Beauty Tamed the Beast, and Snuff were better than average reads.

My yearly count is now up to 158 books read (so I’ve reached my 2011 goal of 150), including 62 paper books, 76 audio books, 18 Nook Books, 1 other e-book, and 1 book in multiple formats.

I have book club books to read in December (although it looks like one club will postpone the book, and just have a social meeting), and a few review books.  Mostly, I want to get some reviews written!

I hope you had a good November, and have an even better December.  Happy Holidays!

 

 
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Posted by on December 4, 2011 in summary

 

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October Wrap-up

In many ways, I could copy my September summary here.  I’m still happy with the quantity of my reading, although I may be more excited by the quality of the books I read in October.

What I’m still not happy with is how many reviews I actually have been writing.  I’d like to say that will improve in November, but I’m not sure it actually will…

Paper Books

  1. Elephant Run by Roland Smith
  2. Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Tahereh Mafi
  3. Defending Jacob by William Landay
  4. A Brisket, a Casket (A Deadly Deli Mystery #1) by Delia Rosen
  5. The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen

Nook Books

  1. You Are My Only by Beth Kephart

Audio Books

  1. Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker by Kevin D. Mitnick, William L. Simon
  2. Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue (The Cynster Sisters Trilogy #1) by Stephanie Laurens
  3. In Pursuit of Miss Eliza Cynster (The Cynster Sisters Trilogy #2) by Stephanie Laurens
  4. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
  5. Completely Smitten  (Hometown Heartbreakers #9) by Susan Mallery
  6. I’d Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman
  7. Murder in Chinatown (A Gaslight Mystery #9) by Victoria Thompson

This brings my totals for the year to 147 books read (almost to my goal of 150!).  This breaks down to 60 paper books, 70 audio books, 15 Nook Books, 1 other e-book, and 1 book in multiple formats.

The best book I read this month isn’t actually out until the end of January.  Defending Jacob is a legal thriller and family drama, and works very well on both counts.  I loved the strong voice of the lead character.  My review will post in January.

I also want to call out The Revisionists (a crazy time travel thrill ride), You Are My Only (a gorgeous little chunk of emotion), and In Pursuit of Miss Eliza Cynster (an incredibly fun romp of a romance).

I spent a couple of days at NCIBA, and had a chance to talk to publishers as well as local booksellers.  I listened to authors tell me about their books.  I came home excited about reading and reviewing again!  I was then hit by a crazy week, but hopefully I get back to more regular reviews here.

 
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Posted by on November 4, 2011 in books, summary

 

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September Wrap-up

Ahh, September.  School kicks into full gear (with my responsibilities for my daughter’s class), the fall TV season starts with the return of favorite shows and my pathological need to try out all potentially interesting new programs….

This year, September also included major traveling by my husband (furthering my respect for all the single parents out there) and my not being able to shake the cold that knocked me out of commission in August.

It’s a wonder I read anything at all. Certainly, my reading was down a bit, particularly audiobooks, but not enough to make me want to change anything there.  What did take more of a hit than I would like is my review writing– with only 6 written, I’m under my goal of 2 per week, and I really want to do better in October.

So, here are my books read:

Paper Books

  1. The Tapestry of Love by Rosy Thornton
  2. Best Staged Plans by Claire Cook
  3. Dear Bully: Seventy Authors Tell Their Stories by Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones (Editors)
  4. Every Step You Take: A Memoir by Jock Soto

Nook Books

  1. Skipping a Beat by Sarah Pekkanen
  2. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
  3. The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer

Audio Books

  1. Pirate King (Mary Russell #11) by Laurie R. King (already read in print)
  2. Hit Man (Keller #1) by Lawrence Block
  3. Beguilement (The Sharing Knife #1) by Lois McMaster Bujold
  4. The Most Dangerous Thing by Laura Lippman
  5. No One You Know by Michelle Richmond

This brings my totals for the year to 134 books read: 55 paper books, 63 audio books, 14 Nook Books, 1 other e-book, and 1 book in multiple formats.  My favorite reads of the month were the completely charming The Tapestry of Love and listening to Pirate King, which I liked even more in audio than I did in print!

I’m continuing to avoid new review commitments for October, so I’m reading a mixture of old review books and books I’ve bought for myself.  My plan is to find one or two books to accept for November and December, and a few more for January.  Meanwhile, I still have book club books to read.

How was your reading in September?  What are your October plans?

 
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Posted by on October 2, 2011 in books, summary

 

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August Wrap Up

First, I want to mention that I have temporarily stopped accepting review books and tour stops.  I won’t reject unsolicited books that appear on my doorstep, but I’m trying hard to back off accepting commitments.

I’d originally been thinking this would be through December.  Now I’m thinking I’ll accept a few commitments for November and December just to keep me moving!

My mailbox is sad, and my Mailbox Monday posts (or lack thereof) reflect this, but I think it will be good to catch up a little.

So, on to books read in August:

Paper Books

  1. Murder Most Persuasive (Elizabeth Parker Mystery #3) by Tracy Kiely
  2. The Revealers by Doug Wilhelm 
  3. Devotion: A Memoir by Dani Shapiro
  4. The Urban Fantasy Anthology by Peter S. Beagle (Editor), Joe R. Lansdale (Editor)
  5. Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman 
  6. Goodie One Shoes by Roz Siegel 
  7. Money Can’t Buy Love by Connie Briscoe 
  8. How I Made It to Eighteen: A Mostly True Story by Tracy White

Audio Books

  1. Her Royal Spyness (Her Royal Spyness Mysteries #1) by Rhys Bowen
  2. Persuasion by Jane Austen
  3. Kitty Takes a Holiday (Kitty Norville #3) by Carrie Vaughn
  4. Storm Front (The Dresden Files #1) by Jim Butcher 
  5. To Say Nothing of the Dog: Or How We Found the Bishop’s Bird Stump at Last by Connie Willis
  6. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
  7. Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi
  8. Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts

I was shocked to discover how many books I’d read, and even more than that, how many reviews I wrote.  I’ve been sick for going on 3 weeks now, and I was really knocked out for the first two.  I must have really been on fire for the first half of the month– 16 books read, 11 reviews written.  I made some real progress on catching up my review backlog as well!

So, my reading totals for the year stand at 122 books read: 51 paper books, 58 audio books, 11 Nook books,  1 other e-book, and 1 book in multiple formats.

My favorite book of the month would be Domestic Violets, with an honorable mention to my re-listen to a favorite, To Say Nothing of the Dog.

Plans going forward? Book club books, getting caught up, more books I read simply because I want to.  I’m really planning to get back to an audiobook review every Friday, and one or two print book reviews each week.

How was your August?  What are your September reading plans?

 
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Posted by on September 4, 2011 in books, summary

 

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July Wrap Up

I think I’m finally out of my reading slump!  This was a good month for both quality and quantity, and I enjoyed most of them– some quite a bit.  A few of them weren’t great for me, but that’s ok, it happens at times.

Print Books

  1. The Book of Lies by Mary Horlock (review posting Thursday)
  2. Pirate King (Mary Russell #12) by Laurie R. King (review coming in September)
  3. Bath Tangle by Georgette Heyer (review posting Wednesday)
  4. Deed to Death by D. B. Henson (review coming soon)
  5. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
  6. Fun and Games by Duane Swierczynski (review coming soon)
  7. Things We Didn’t Say by Kristina Riggle

Audio Books

  1. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (review coming soon)
  2. All Clear (All Clear #2) by Connie Willis
  3. Blackout (All Clear #1) by Connie Willis
  4. I Think I Love You by Allison Pearson (review coming soon)
  5. Ten Things I Love About You (Bevelstoke #3) by Julia Quinn
  6. Bossypants by Tina Fey
  7. The Heroine’s Bookshelf by Erin Blakemore
  8. Paladin of Souls (Chalion #2) by Lois McMaster Bujold

Nook Books

  1. What Momma Left Me by Renee Watson (review posting Friday)
  2. Learning Curves by Elyse Mady
  3. Beekeeping for Beginners (Mary Russell #11) by Laurie R. King (novella)

I’m amazed to have finished 7 paper books, considering I spend the last week avoiding one that really didn’t work for me.  A few of the books I read are quite short (one is a novella), but one of the audiobooks was almost 24 hours long, and another was over 18 hours.  I think my average is fine :-) .

Totals for the year now stand at 106 books read: 43 paper books, 50 audio books, 11 Nook books,  1 other e-book, and 1 book in multiple formats.

I’m having a hard time identifying the best books of the month.  I think it comes down to State of Wonder and Pirate KingBlackout and All Clear were great rereads, even if I had… issues… my first time through. Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet would have been the top read if it’d come in a different month.

I published 11 reviews.  One of those was a guest post by my daughter, and one of my reviews covered two books, so I guess that works out :-) .  I was posting like crazy at the beginning of the month, but slumped a bit at the end, I hope that doesn’t continue in August.  I’ve started posting an audiobook review every Friday when I’m not committed to something else, so watch for those.

I’ve got two tours scheduled in August, then I’m taking a bit of a break from those, unless something I really can’t pass up comes along.  I’ll probably resume in January.  (As a general rule, I don’t mind having some structure to my reading, but I’ll still have two book club books a month during this interval).

How was your July?  How is your August looking?

 
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Posted by on August 2, 2011 in books, summary

 

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June Wrap up


Halfway through the year!

In June, I read:

  • Paper Books

    1. I Shall Wear Midnight (Tiffany Aching #4) (Discworld, #38) by Terry Pratchett
    2. Grace Interrupted (Manor of Murder, #2) by Julie Hyzy
    3. The Case for the Only Child: Your Essential Guide by Susan Newman
    4. The Art of Saying Goodbye by Ellyn Bache
    5. Folly Beach: A Lowcountry Tale by Dorothea Benton Frank
    6. 22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson
  • Audio Books

    1. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
    2. Smokin’ Seventeen (Stephanie Plum #17) by Janet Evanovich
    3. Just Like Heaven (Smythe-Smith Quartet #1) by Julia Quinn
    4. The Gates of Sleep (Elemental Masters #3) by Mercedes Lackey
    5. Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
    6. The Curse of Chalion (Chalion #1) by Lois McMaster Bujold
    7. Under Her Skin (Lone Star Sisters #1) by Susan Mallery
  • Nook Books

    1. Original Sin: A Sally Sin Adventure (Sally Sin #1) by Beth McMullen
    2. Don’t Breathe a Word by Jennifer McMahon

This brings my yearly total to 88 books read: 36 paper books, 42 audio books, 8 nook books, one other e-book, and one book in multiple formats.  In June, I published 9 reviews– 8 that I wrote, and 1 guest post by my daughter.

My favorite book of the month was Original Sin by Beth McMullen– my review will be posting on July 12. My reading slump is continuing– not in the number of books read, but in my not enjoying the books I’m reading as much.  I don’t know if I’m picking the wrong books or if it is simply my frame of mind.

In July, I have two book club books, 4 blog tour books, and 2 books to read for the Nerds Heart YA tournament.  I’d better get busy…

 
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Posted by on July 3, 2011 in books, summary

 

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May Reading Wrap Up

Hmmm, an odd month for me, with lots of audio fluff, and not a lot of review writing.

  • Audio Books
    1. The Sins of the Fathers (Matthew Scudder #1) by Lawrence Block
    2. The Brutal Telling (Armand Gamache #5)  by Louise Penny
    3. Happy Ever After (Bride Quartet #4) by Nora Roberts
    4. Dare to Die (Death on Demand #19)  by Carolyn Hart
    5. Legend in Green Velvet by Elizabeth Peters
    6. The Serpent’s Shadow (Elemental Masters #2) by Mercedes Lackey
    7. The Help by Kathryn Stockett (re-read)
  • Print Books
    1. The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home by Dan Ariely
    2. Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg
    3. A Drop of the Hard Stuff (Matthew Scudder #17)  by Lawrence Block
    4. Promises to Keep (Newford #21) by Charles de Lint
    5. Almost Home (Chesapeake Diaries #3) by Mariah Stewart
    6. Wrecker by Summer Wood
  • Nook Books (none this month!)
  • Other e-books
    • The Last Unicorn (Graphic Novel) by Peter S. Beagle, Peter Gillis, Renae De Liz, Ray Dillon (Review scheduled for June)

This brings my yearly total to 73 books read: 30 paper books, 35 audio books, 6 Nook books, and 1 other e-book.  This isn’t quite on track to make 150 books this year, but it’s pretty close, and I’m not going to worry about it.  If I decide I care, I can follow the example of some of my daughter’s classmates, who realized they were approaching the end of the school year without reading & logging the suggested number of books, and went on a marathon of Magic Treehouse & Doctor Suess books :-) .

I’m more concerned about writing only 8 reviews.  I did keep up on my review commitments, and I’m only slightly short of my preferred minimum of 2 reviews a week.

Counting The Help as the outstanding book of the month seems like cheating, since in was already my 2009 book of the year.   Other highlights of the month were The Last Unicorn  and The Brutal Telling.

I’m slightly over-scheduled for June.  Hopefully this helps me keep writing reviews.  For book clubs, I’m reading The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein and Every Last One by Anna Quindlen.  For tours, I’m reading Folly Beach by Dorothea Benton Frank, The Art of Saying Goodbye by Ellyn Bache, Things We Didn’t Say by Kristina Riggle, and The Case for the Only Child by Susan Newman.

Also, June is Audiobook Month!  I’ll be celebrating Audiobook Week next week along with Jen at Devourer of Books, and trying to post more audiobook reviews throughout the month.

How was your May?  How is your June looking, reading-wise?

 
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Posted by on June 1, 2011 in books, summary

 

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