I spent a lot of the summer doing yard work (which was a good thing), but I also managed to squeeze in some reading. As promised, here's my list of summer reads, with quick notes:
Fiction:
- Rowling - Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows (obviously!!). What can I say? I loved it, but I was sad to be at the end of the journey with Harry. I was SO proud to see so many of "my kids" waiting in line for their copy at midnight.
- Dietrich - Napoleon's Pyramids - my favorite genre (adventure, with ancient artifacts, intrigue & mystery), but not the best. Good historical context, but kind of a chore to finish.
- James - Pure Sunshine - interesting, gritty look at a drug problem, from the inside.
- Cohn/Levithan -Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist - one of my summer faves. The story of a guy & girl who meet unexpectedly & spend the night chasing bands in NYC, told from both points of view. Just really well-written.
- Clare - City of Bones - dark, gritty, supernatural creatures in NYC... loved it, but I was frustrated by the fact that it's first in a trilogy, and the other two aren't written yet.
- Mieville - UnLunDun - maybe the strangest thing I read all summer. Very clever, in a Lewis Carroll Through the Looking Glass kind of way. A fun read for those who can handle a bit of the absurd.
- Vizzini - Be More Chill - I really like this guy. I read his It's Kind of a Funny Story earlier this year. He's got a great voice as a writer. Strong characterization, interesting stories.
- McCarthy - The Road - heavy, really heavy, but it blew my mind (in a good way). As the father of a 7-year-old, it really resonated. Really more adult than YA.
- Westerfield - Peeps & Last Days - a cool twist on the vampire idea (scientific rather than supernatural), Last Days is only a sequel in the sense that it takes place in the same "world". I really like these.
- Hamamura - Color of the Sea - this one got under my skin. It's historical fiction about a Japanese-American before, during and after WWII. He's drafted while most of his friends & family are in interment camps. Really well-written, and thought-provoking.
Graphic Novels:
- Hellboy 1-8 (Mignola) - really fun stuff - ancient evil, Nazis, and a big red guy who kicks butt.
- Ultimate X-Men 1-4 - not as much fun as Hellboy, but not bad.
2 comments:
I have also read City of Bones. I thought it was a great book and I have to read it again when the sequal comes out next year. When City of Ashes (sequal) comes out, you should get that one also. I hope you don't take that I'm being anonymous but I can't figure out how to use it. By the way this is Alicia from Ms. Hankins third period class!
I was just browsing for a book and I picked up Un Lun Dun. I really enjoyed it, I thought that it was a neat idea that stuff forgotten in cities went someplace and was used again...I think that at the end I was a bit disappointed that they didn't rush off and complete all 7 tasks, I thought Deeba was overreacting about the phlygum (?) effect, but then again it was kind of neat to read a book where all the prophecies didn't some true. This book was full of surprises the whole way through and I would definately recommend it to thers.
Post a Comment