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January Reading Wrap Up

02 Feb

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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November wrap-up

04 Dec

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

04 Nov

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

02 Oct

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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July Wrap Up

02 Aug

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 King.  Blackout 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

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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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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September wrap-up

01 Oct

Although you can’t tell from the end results, this was a very up & down reading month for me.

I had weeks where I read lots of books, and weeks where I read almost none.  Some of this was the minor eye surgery I had, the start of the TV season, and just my mood in general.

The quality of the books was also more uneven than usual, particularly the audiobooks.  The majority of the books I read end up rated 4 stars.  I genuinely enjoy the majority of books I read.  I’m usually pretty good at making choices that work for me, but I’m hard to REALLY impress.  My audio books had two rare 5 star listens (although one was listening to a favorite book that I’ve read many, many times) and one incredibly rare 2.5 star listen.

So, here’s my final list:

Paper books:

  • 4.5 stars The Heart is Not a Size by Beth Kephart
  • 3 stars Dangerous Desires (A-Tac #2) by Dee Davis
  • 4.5 stars Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay
  • 4 stars The Chesapeake Diaries: Home Again by Mariah Stewart
  • 4 stars Real Life & Liars by Kristina Riggle
  • 3 stars The Seven Year Bitch by Jennifer Belle
  • 4 stars Coming Home (Chesapeake Diaries Series #1) by Mariah Stewart
  • 4 stars Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love by Larry Levin
  • 3.5 stars The Life You’ve Imagined by Kristina Riggle

Audio books:

  • 4+ stars The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
  • 4.25 stars Skulduggery Pleasant (Skulduggery Pleasant #1) by Derek Landy
  • 3.5 stars Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta
  • 3.5 stars Dirty Laundry (Sofie Metropolis, #2) by Tori Carrington
  • 5 stars The City & The City by China Miéville
  • 2.5 stars When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro
  • 3.5 stars Sofie Metropolis (Sofie Metropolis, #1) by Tori Carrington
  • 5 stars Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

Nook Books:

  • 3.75 The Absolute Value of -1 by Steve Brezenoff

I also read more than half of Nora Roberts’ Black Hills.  I’m normally a big fan, but this one wasn’t working for me.  Since it was strictly for fun, I went on to another book.

So, my totals are 9 paper books, 8 audio books, 1 Nook book for a total of 18 books.  This puts my total for the year at 140 books (73 paper, 10 Nook books, 58 audio!). I’m not reading as much on my Nook this month because my backlog of Nook books isn”t going to hurt anyone if it falls over.  Several have expired, which is sad.

My top book for the month was The City & The City, followed by Russian Winter.

I wrote 12 full reviews and 4 shorter reviews for a Book Club Bytes post that covered 5 book club books and my group’s discussion of them.  I’m starting to fall behind, although it looks worse than it is because I’ve finished reading 6 books in the last 3 days.  It will take me a while to review those.  I do need to step up my pace a little.

Looking ahead to next month, I’m reading The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi as part of a readalong with several other bloggers– feel free to join us!   I’m reading Edge of Sight by Roxanne St. Claire for a Hachette Blog Tour (complete with Twitter Party)!  Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese and  Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet by Stephanie Cowell are my two book club picks for the month.  I’ll try to get some spooky reads in as well!

How was your reading month?

 
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Posted by on October 1, 2010 in books, summary

 

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July Wrap-up

01 Aug

Overall, July was a good reading month. I read a lot of books.  Most of them were good, and there were a couple of standout stars. I read

Books on paper:

Books on my Nook:

Books as Audio

  • (3.5 stars)Blindman’s Bluff (Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus, #18) by Faye Kellerman (not reviewing)
  • (4.5 stars)The Soloist by Steve Lopez
  • (4 stars)The Search by Nora Roberts
  • (3.5 stars)Life’s a Beach by Claire Cook (review might be coming)
  • (4 stars)This Time Together by Carol Burnett
  • (4 stars)An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (review scheduled 8/5)
  • (not sure)The Postmistress by Sarah Blake (review probably coming)
  • (not sure)In the Woods by Tana French (review might be coming)

(Click on the book title for my review).

This gives me 7 paper books, 3 Nook books, and 8 audio books, for a monthly total of 18 books!   This brings me to a total of 103 books this year (55 paper, 6 Nook, 42 audio).  I also spent some time skimming through The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by , which I’ve read before, since we were discussing it for book club, but I’m not counting that.

My favorite books for the month were The Disappearing Spoon and The Language of Trees.  I haven’t yet rated my last two audiobooks of the month. Both were very uneven for me, and I’m not sure how much was the book, how much the narration, and how much was my state of mind.

I think my blog has had a good month as well.  I’ve posted 14 reviews!  I’ve decided it’s OK to read a book and not review it, if I don’t have any obligation to do so.  I have one book I read that I’m not planning to review, and two more that I’m not sure about.  I also posted a cute (and bookish) cat photo and wrote a long post about my role in my daughter’s reading material.

I posted two book giveaways, The Disappearing Spoon and Deadly Fear. Both are still running, and I’ve got more coming up!

Other bloggy work includes creating a facebook page for my blog, please come tell me you like me!  I’ve updated my sidebar and complete list of reviews as well.

Coming up for August, I’ve got Broken Glass Park by Alina Bronsky for one of my book clubs.  The other is reading Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, which I’ve already read.  I’ll decide whether to reread/skim/rely on memory.  I’m also reading Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt and The Boy Who harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer for blog tours.  Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins is on my immediate must read list as well.  After those, who knows what else!

How was your July? What do you have planned for August?

 
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Posted by on August 1, 2010 in books, summary, Uncategorized

 

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