It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now… who knows, you might discover that next “must read” book! Our Kid Lit to YA version is hosted by Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers.
I'm ba-ack. Two weeks in a row! And the new glasses, I'm sorry to say (because they are progressive lense bifocals and I wanted to be in denial they were needed), do help. Do you like how I never end up reading anything I was thinking about at this time last week?
Let's see ... how to organize all of these. The top pic links to my most recent Goodreads page. I never write super detailed reviews but there is a little more info there. I keep trying to figure out the best way to share books. Once a week in a big super post makes it hard to go back to later but easier to skim in feeds if that's not really your thing, especially where my choices are pretty eclectic. Dunno.
I'm super late ever talking about The Taxidermist's Daughter and The Impersonator. I think I won them on Goodreads? Both are adult books. Good ... not super great but definitely worth the read. Daughter was little extra gruesome in it's gothicness. And Impersonator predictable. But still both fun mysteries!
All By Myself, Alone is classic MHC. Also formulaic but still fun in fulfilling it's formula. Guilty pleasure popcorn reading.
Orphan Island I actually had as an E-ARC from Netgalley and I finally got it read. It had so many beautifully written lines and yet ... I'm going to say it. Another book that I don't get what the big deal was about. Yes, beautiful lines. But there were SO MANY weird parts and unanswered questions that seriously. Frustration. I need to meet a kid who has read it. What do kids think?
Maud was also an E-ARC from Netgalley. It is a historical fic book based on the life of L.M. Montgomery (author of Anne of Green Gables). I liked it. Not as much as I love Anne but I liked it well enough. It's not going to "convert" someone into enjoying Anne but for an already fan of Anne it's an enjoyable read.
Death on the River of Doubt was a little dry in places but still worth a read. The photos were a nice addition. I wish they could have been printed in a better quality resolution/on better paper but that would have increased the price of the book, I know.
Edge of Everything ... odd. I liked it! But also odd. Didn't really believe in the romance aspect but liked everything else about it. Interesting premise. Demon bounty hunter? I'll be back for part 2.
The Door Before ... is actually a prequel to The 100 Cupboards series but apparently it ties in to another series he wrote that I haven't ever gotten to. Maybe that's why I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the original series? I think it skews a bit higher in reading level (actually more for content than necessarily vocab) also. I liked this one but I liked the original series more, if that makes sense.
So for next week ...
The next two Victoria Aveyard books. Because thanks to Overdrive I already have them on my Kindle.
And I need to finish the second Mysteries of Cove book. Been halfway through it for a while. Not to say I wasn't really enjoying it. Most of last year is just best left behind. But hey! I got the ARC of book three (coming out in September) so a refresh is needed! If you like mid grade fantasy with some steampunk at all this one is fun. The author visited our school and he was so awesome.
I need a good picture book binge. Our local public library just ... doesn't have very many. A few. But I really just need to head down to B&N again or something. I was only able to stop in for a couple minutes the other day.
If you have any idea what I'm talking about ... Happy Pioneer Day! If not ... oh well. Happy Pioneer Day to you, too. So glad I didn't have to walk across the plains and that treks were not a thing when I was in YW (knock on wood I am not prepared to be a leader! Just saying!).
Feel the same about Orphan Island. Meh. Like Spinelli's Hokey Pokey. I was also disappointed in Maud, although I have had a number of students over the years (one every other year?) who will read Anne. I gave away all of my books to one of my students last year because she really liked them, and I now find Anne irritating. Thought of you in the fabric store this weekend-- tons of Star Wars fabric!
ReplyDeleteI loved Orphan Island - but I think you are right, it will be interesting to get a kid's perspective on some parts of this story.
ReplyDeleteI really am curious to see what kids think! Sometimes you can "call" their reactions and other times they surprise you! I can appreciate how beautiful the writing was. I was just frustrated by all the unanswered questions. :/
DeleteI've got Orphan Island on a reserve list at my local library. I'm next in line so I hope it turns out to be ok.
ReplyDeleteI tried hard to get into Red Queen, but it didn't work for me. It's a good thing I'm not the target audience!
I hope you love Orphan Island more than I did. A lot of people do! The writing was so beautiful ... but all the questions left irritated me. A lot. I feel like I missed out on something. :/ Isn't it funny how every book has it's reader? Red Queen was a lot less beautiful but the plot kept me hooked. It's all good!
DeleteWelcome back!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any of these! Orphan Island is a must read for me because I love Snyder's writing. I cannot wait to read Red Queen. I know I am behind also, but I need to read it because my kids love it.
Happy reading this week!
Orphan Island really was beautifully written. One of the most beautifully written books I've read in a long time. And yet one of my least favorite for the frustrations of so many unanswered questions. How can that even be? Anyway. The never ending TBR list. We'll never get to them all, will we. #justkeepreading
DeleteHmmm... orphan island is on my the list. I'm like you too in the sense that I hardly ever end up reading what I plan to.
ReplyDeleteI definitely wonder, whenever I see adults raving about a MG title, what the actual intended audience might think about it! Which is why I take adult reviews (and encourage everyone to take mine) with a major hunk of salt. What appeals to a 30+ year old librarian might not be what appeals to a 10 year old girl or an 8 year old boy! I also can't stand books that are obviously trying to appeal to the award market, with plots, characters and writing that were never written with young people in mind. I haven't read Orphan Island, so I'm not commenting on that book in particular, but I've read others that just made me grumble, because it just felt like they were written for us oldies to write glowing reviews of, and not for kids to actually read and enjoy!
ReplyDelete