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June Wrap up

03 Jul


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

01 Jun

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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April Wrap Up

04 May

April started off as a rough month for me.  I can remember being so sick I couldn’t read.  I can’t remember being so sick I can’t listen to audiobooks.  That part only lasted a day or so, thank goodness.

The month ended with a family road trip to take my daughter to her end of season competition.  It was a good trip, but not conducive to reading!

For most of the month, I had trouble getting back in the swing of things, largely sticking with fluffy books.

  • Audiobooks
    1. Seduce Me at Sunrise (The Hathaways #2) by Lisa Kleypas
    2. Grave Sight (Harper Connelly #1) by Charlaine Harris
    3. The Wizard of London (Elemental Masters #5) by Mercedes Lackey
    4. The Alchemist’s Apprentice (Venice #1) by Dave Duncan
    5. Written in Bone by Sally Walker
    6. The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist (review posting tomorrow)
    7. The Sugar House (Tess Monaghan #5) by Laura Lippman
    8. The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson (review coming next week)
  • Print books
    1. Heart of Deception by M.L. Malcolm
    2. The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen
    3. Married with Zombies (Living with the Dead #1) by Jesse Petersen
    4. The Cat, the Lady and the Liar (A Cats in Trouble Mystery #3) by Leann Sweeney (review coming soon)
  • Nook Books
    1. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink
    2. The Cat, the Professor and the Poison (A Cats in Trouble Mystery #2) by Leann Sweeney
    3. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Sausages by Tom Holt (review coming soon)

This gives a total of 15 books read, although that’s a little misleading.  One book has been in progress since last year (Drive, for a read-along with a group at my daughter’s school).  Many were quick and fluffy.  One audiobook was aimed at a middle grade audience and clocked in at under 4 hours.  Anyway, this brings my totals for the year to date to 59 books read: 24 paper books, 6 Nook books, and 28 audio books.

My favorite book of the month  was The Unit, which also made for fantastic book club discussion. I’d also like to call out The Cat, the Professor and the Poison, which is very close to a perfect example of a cozy mystery, Married with Zombies, which was tremendous fun, Written in Bone,which was a fascinating look at forensic anthropology, even while being aimed at kids ages 11 and up, and The Bird Sisters, a wonderful debut novel by a fantastic author.

I published 11 reviews, whch isn’t bad.  I want to mention my review of one of my favorite books of last month, Science Fair Season.  I’d like to publish at least 12 reviews in May, we’ll see how that goal goes.  I also celebrated 2 years of blogging!

Looking forward to May, I’m reading Anna Quindlan’s Every Last One and Kathryn Stockett’s The Help (again) for book clubs. For blog tours, I have Wrecker by Summer Wood and Almost Home by Mariah Stewart.  I’ve got a pile of other books lined up as well, we’ll see how it goes.

I hope everyone reading had a good April, and has a great May!

 
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Posted by on May 4, 2011 in books, summary

 

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March Wrap Up

02 Apr

I read a lot of books in March.  Many of them were short and/or fluffy.  Many of them were enjoyable, but not many of them were outstanding.

I had a hard time with my review writing this month, and I’m not happy with several of them.  I also have several pending that I’ve tried to write, but have not yet succeeded.  Hopefully I’ll get to those this week.

Books read:

Print:

  1. Formula for Murder (Maternal Instincts Mystery #3) by Diana Orgain (review coming)
  2. The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer (review coming Tuesday)
  3. Guilt by Association by Marcia Clark (review to come)
  4. Where She Went (If I Stay #2) by Gayle Forman
  5. Stiltsville: A Novel by Susanna Daniel
  6. The Orchid Affair (Pink Carnation #7) by Lauren Willig
  7. The Mistress Of Nothing by Kate Pullinger
  8. Beaglemania (Pet Rescue Mystery #1) by Linda O. Johnston
  9. Horns by Joe Hill
  10. All That’s True by Jackie Lee Miles

Audio:

  1. Feed by M.T. Anderson (review coming)
  2. True Grit by Charles Portis
  3. Doctor Who: The Taking Of Chelsea 426 by David Llewellyn
  4. The Lady Most Likely…: A Novel in Three Parts by Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, Connie Brockway
  5. Savor the Moment (Bride Quartet #3) by Nora Roberts
  6. Dying for Mercy by Mary Jane Clark
  7. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
  8. My Fair Godmother (My Fair Godmother #1) by Janette Rallison
  9. Room by Emma Donoghue

Nook:

  1. Science Fair Season: Twelve Kids, a Robot Named Scorch . . . and What It Takes to Win by Judy Dutton (review coming)

This brings my yearly total to 44 Books read: 20 paper books, 3 Nook books, 20 Audio books, and 1 all of the above.

My favorite books of the month were Science Fair Season and Where She Went.

I’ve got a lot of books I plan to read in April, and these first two days of Strep Throat have been putting a damper on those plans.  For my book clubs, I have The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist and The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson. For blog tours, I have Heart of Deception by M.L. Malcom. Somehow I thought I had more tours, I hope I’m not forgetting anything!  I’ve got a lot of other books to read, and in particular,  I’m really looking forward to The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen.

I’m in good shape with my reading.  I just hope I get out of my writing slump, and feel more comfortable about my writing process and writing results!

 
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Posted by on April 2, 2011 in books, summary

 

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February Wrap-up

28 Feb

Books read in February:

Audiobooks:

  1. (3.5 stars) Scarlett Fever (Scarlett #2) by Maureen Johnson
  2. (3 stars) The Man You’ll Marry: The First Man You’ll Meet & The Man You’ll Marry by Debbie Macomber
  3. (3.5 stars) The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
  4. (3.5 stars) Solar by Ian McEwan
  5. (4 stars) A Rule Against Murder (Armand Gamache #4) by Louise Penny

Paper books:

  1. (4 stars) Fatal Error (Ali Reynolds #6) by J.A. Jance
  2. (4.5 stars) A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
  3. (4.5 stars) North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
  4. (4.5 stars) Moonface: A True Romance by Angela Balcita
  5. Triumph of the City : How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier by Edward Glaeser

On my Nook:

  1. (3 stars) Seducing the Governess by Margo Maguire

A combination of all 3:

  1. Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare

Yearly totals:  24 books read:  10 paper books, 2 Nook books, 11 audio books, and 1 all of the above.

Favorite book read this month:  A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness.


 
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Posted by on February 28, 2011 in books, summary

 

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January Wrap-Up

01 Feb

I had an up and down reading month, with a few really good books, several times where I couldn’t settle into any book, and a higher than usual percentage of books that are under 4 stars.

Read in January

Paper books:

  1. (4.5 stars) The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
  2. (3.5 stars) Miles from Nowhere by Nami Mun (review posting tomorrow)
  3. (4.5 stars) Up from the Blue by Susan Henderson
  4. (4 stars) The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
  5. (3.5 stars) The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman

Nook:

  1. (3.5 stars) To Have and to Kill (Wedding Cake Mysteries #1) by Mary Jane Clark

Audio:

  1. (4 stars) Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby
  2. (3.5 stars) A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
  3. (3.5 stars) River’s End by Nora Roberts (review posting next week)
  4. (3.5 stars) Killing Floor (Jack Reacher #1) by Lee Child
  5. (4 stars) Even the Queen & Other Short Stories by Connie Willis
  6. (4 stars) Kitty Goes to Washington (Kitty Norville #2) by Carrie Vaughn (review posting soon)

So my yearly total starts out at 12 books read:  5 paper books, 1 Nook Book, and 6 audio books.    I posted 10 reviews (see the sidebar for a list), and I have several scheduled to post next month.

There were 2 standout books this month.  The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown is an early contender for one of my top books of the year, and Up from the Blue by Susan Henderson is also outstanding.  I also want to mention a book which I finished on New Years Eve last year, so it was a 2010 book, but I didn’t have time to really consider it in with those books. The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond would have made my list of top reads last year if I’d given it fair thought, and I’m appreciating it even more as I think more about it.

Looking forward into February, I’m most of the way through Triumph of the City by Edward Glaeser for a blog tour this Thursday.  I’ll then pick up Moonface by Angela Balcita for a tour later in the month.  I’ll finish reading Measure for Measure with my daughter’s class.  I’ll be reading Solar by Ian McEwan for one book club, North of Beautiful for the other.  I’m also planning to read A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness and All That’s True by Jackie Lee Miles.

How was your January?  What are your February plans?

 
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Posted by on February 1, 2011 in books, summary

 

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My Daughter’s Top 10 Books of 2010

30 Dec

A Guest Post by my 12 year old daughter!

Some of My Favorite Books that I read in 2010

  • Thirteenth Child By Patricia C. Wrede
  • A Stitch in Time By Ann Rinaldi
  • Deep Down Popular By Phoebe Stone
  • The Young Wizard Series By Diane Duane
  • Princess of Glass and Princess of the Midnight Ball By Jessica Day George
  • The Season By Sarah MacLean
  • If I Stay By Gale Forman
  • Mockingjay By Suzanne Collins
  • Alanna: The First Adventure By Tamora Pierce
  • The Lost Hero By Rick Riordan

This list is in not ordered and mostly represents the books of the second half of the year.

 
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Posted by on December 30, 2010 in books, Guest post, summary

 

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December wrapup

30 Dec

I’m not going to post many thoughts on my reading– I’ll save those for my yearly wrapup, but I did want to list my final reads for the year, particularly since I didn’t review many of them!

So:

Books on Paper:

  1. Secrets to the Grave (Deeper than the dead #2) by Tami Hoag
  2. The Heir by Grace Burrowes
  3. Skating Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
  4. An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin
  5. Goodnight Tweetheart by Teresa Medeiros
  6. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
  7. A Secret Gift by Ted Gup
  8. The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano

Books on my MP3 player

  1. The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond
  2. Kitty and the Midnight Hour (Kitty Norville #1) by Carrie Vaughn
  3. Paper Towns by John Green
  4. Slay Ride (Christopher Miller Holiday Thriller #1) by Chris Grabenstein
  5. The Mischief of the Mistletoe: A Pink Carnation Christmas by Lauren Willig
  6. Wishin’ and Hopin’ by Wally Lamb
  7. Blue Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews
  8. Whispering Rock (Virgin River #3) by Robyn Carr

Books on my Nook

  1. The Girl in the Garden by Kamala Nair

I think this brings my total for the year to 181 books total: 93 paper books, 14 Nook books, 75 audio books.  The most delightful book of the month was The Mischief of the Mistletoe.  The book that is really going to stick with me is A Secret Gift.

Happy New Year everyone!

http://blog.imbookingit.com/2010/12/15/an-object-of-beauty/
 
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Posted by on December 30, 2010 in books, summary

 

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November wrapup

04 Dec

I was too busy to notice I hadn’t been reading as much this month!  It’s still plenty, I’m not complaining, but it is a drop from the last few months.

I’ll post tomorrow about one of the non-bookish things that’s keeping me busy.

This brings my totals for the year to 164 books total:  85 paper books, 13 Nook books, 67 audio books.  I can’t flag anything as the highlight of the month– most of the books were good, but none of them made it to great.

I wrote 10 reviews, which isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I’ll be thrilled if I do that much in December– I’m already behind, but I’m not going to stress over it, I’ll just pick up again in January.

Looking into this month, I need to re-read (or at least skim) Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen for one book club.  I just finished Paolo Giordano’s The Solitude of Prime Numbers for the other, and I’ll need to read The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond (which is the 2011 Silicon Valley Reads book) for our early January meeting.  I’m reading Secrets to the Grave by Tami Hoag for a TLC tour, as well.  I want to get a Christmas book or two in as well.

I hope everyone has a Happy Holiday season, with lots of good bookish fun!

 
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Posted by on December 4, 2010 in books, summary

 

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October Wrapup

02 Nov

October was a fun but busy month, with many things that got in the way of reading and blogging.  Most were good, some not so much.

Here’s what I read:

  • Books on paper
    1. The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
    2. Edge of Sight (The Guardian Angelinos #1) by Roxanne St. Claire
    3. Live to Tell by Wendy Corsi Staub
    4. The Year My Sister Got Lucky by Aimee Friedman
    5. When He Was Wicked (Bridgertons #6) by Julia Quinn
    6. The Thousand by Kevin Guilfoile
  • Books on my Nook
    1. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
    2. Fair Game by Josh Lanyon
  • Books on my MP3 player
    1. Claude and Camille by Stephanie Cowell
    2. A Fatal Grace (Armand Gamache #2) by Louise Penny
    3. So Cold the River by Michael Koryta
    4. The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking #1) by Patrick Ness

After thinking through my month, I’m actually surprised I read as much as I did!  I’m happy with amount of reading I did, even if it is less than in prior months.

My best reading/blogging preventer was Bouchercon.  Other things were getting a new computer and having to migrate to it and getting a cold and having to deal with it.  A couple of books I read slowly also made a difference.  TV watching time cut into my audiobook listening, and I also listened to more podcasts, just because I felt like it.

The best book of the month was very clearly Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese.  I found it very slow going, but I enjoyed reading it, and loved the book as a whole.   I had a number of books  this month that had very clear strengths, but I also had significant issues with them. I think that’s better than “meh” books, where they are just fine all around.

My yearly totals are 152 books total: 79 paper books, 12 Nook books, 62 audio books.

I’m not as happy with the quantity of reviews posted (9), and will work harder on that this month.

Coming up in November, I have The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano for one book club, The Opposite of Me by Sarah Pekkanen for the other.  I have Outside the Ordinary World by Dori Ostermiller and A Secret Gift by Ted Gup for blog tours.  I’m hoping to read Wolf in the Shadows by Marcia Muller and A Piece of Justice by Jill Paton Walsh for discussion with the Laurie R. King Virtual Book Club.

How was your October, reading wise?  What are you looking forward to in November.

 
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Posted by on November 2, 2010 in books, summary

 

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