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Read in 2011, part II

  • Dec. 31st, 2011 at 8:02 PM
beth_shulman: (book: meg powers)
There is, in fact, a mood theme icon for discontent, which is how I feel about this list. I read way less than I usually do because of the insanity of this semester. Links are to my reviews - I did manage to write some. Organized by new books and rereads, for obvious depressing reasons:

The Folk Keeper by Franny Billingsley
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
The Black Hawk by Joanne Bourne
The Spymaster's Lady by Joanne Bourne
The Demon's Surrender by Sarah Rees Brennan
Liar's Moon by Elizabeth C. Bunce
Spoiled by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
The Gray Wolf Throne by Cinda Williams Chima
The Lost Conspiracy by Frances Hardinge
The Big Crunch by Pete Hautman
Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins
Blink & Caution by Tim Wynne Jones
Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
So Silver Bright by Lisa Mantchev
Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier
Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Floating Islands by Rachel Neumeier
The Dark Enquiry by Deanna Raybourn
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
My Brother Michael by Mary Stewart
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Passage by Connie Willis
Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Rereads:
By Cinda Williams Chima:
The Sorcerer Heir
The Demon King
The Exiled Queen

Frindle by Andrew Clements

By Madeleine L'Engle:
The Arm of the Starfish
The Young Unicorns
A Ring of Endless Light

By Maud Hart Lovelace:
Betsy-Tacy
Betsy-Tacy and Tib
Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown
Heaven to Betsy
Betsy in Spite of Herself
Betsy was a Junior
Betsy and Joe
Betsy's Wedding

The Pushcart War by Jean Merrill

By L.M. Montgomery:
Anne of Green Gables
Anne of the Island
Anne's House of Dreams
Anne of Ingleside
Rilla of Ingleside
The Blue Castle

By Ellen Emerson White:
Romance is a Wonderful Things
Life Without Friends
The President's Daughter
Long May She Reign

Assigned reads:
By William Shakespeare:
The Taming of the Shrew
Much Ado About Nothing
A Merchant of Venice
Richard III
Henry IV, Part I
Othello
King Lear
The Tempest

The notables:
  • The Gray Wolf Throne by Cinda Williams Chima - YA + high fantasy + good writing! How could I not like it?
  • The Lost Conspiracy by Frances Hardinge - As always, a marvel.
  • The Floating Islands by Rachel Neumeier - A lovely, understated, elegant fantasy.
  • Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt - A maelstrom of emotion, a testament to the strength of humanity, a wonderful, wonderful novel. YA at its finest.
  • Passage by Connie Willis - A heartbreaker, but it contains so much truth about life and death and grief and is so utterly gripping that it's an undeniable standout.
  • All the rereads are wonderful, too.
The numbers, loosely by genre:
YA (includes fantasy and dystopian YA): 33
Children's (meaning for everyone, but shelved with children's books): 12
Adult fiction: 6
Plays: 8
Somewhere-in-between: 2

Comments

[identity profile] katayla.livejournal.com wrote:
Jan. 1st, 2012 08:03 am (UTC)
Awesome post! I'm hoping to gather a books of 2012 post together in the next week or so. Went on a bit of reading spree today (as you may have noticed on GoodReads, lol), so I have more to add to my list!

Are you a Deanna Raybourn fan? I'm interested in her books, but two of my friends--who don't have the most similar tastes in the world--both told me they couldn't get through the first book.
[identity profile] beth-shulman.livejournal.com wrote:
Jan. 1st, 2012 06:12 pm (UTC)
Ha, yes! But that's awesome.

I... don't know? I've read all her books, but I'm not sure I like them. I know that sounds weird. The voice is definitely an acquired taste. I think it can't hurt checking out the first one.
[identity profile] brandy-painter.livejournal.com wrote:
Jan. 1st, 2012 10:48 pm (UTC)
You still managed to read way more than I did. And I am lucky to get new books read. I don't get to reread as much as I used to.

What did you think about Liar's Moon? I'm just curious as I probably won't be picking it up either way. I wasn't enthused about Starcrossed but still, I find myself wondering about your take on it.

I loved your review of The Scorpio Races on Goodreads. I am going to officially like it when I post my review on Tuesday. I rather felt that Sean and his horse reminded me of Hiccup and Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon (the movie), except Sean didn't have nearly as interesting a personality. In fact, he had no personality.

HOW ARE YOU FEELING???
[identity profile] beth-shulman.livejournal.com wrote:
Jan. 2nd, 2012 03:47 am (UTC)
I just feel like - I didn't hunt down new books as much. And I didn't love a lot of the new books I did read. This year's highlights were mostly read the first half of the year.

Liar's Moon was a real mehhhh. I don't think I'll bother picking up the sequel. And I thought the ending was pretty cheap. It's more of the same.

I'm excited to hear what you think about it! Especially because it keeps coming up on best-of-year lists. I keep gritting my teeth every time I see it.

I'm feeling markedly better today! I ventured outside! (It's like 55 degrees here. Ha.) Thanks for asking!
[identity profile] agh-4.livejournal.com wrote:
Jan. 4th, 2012 06:14 am (UTC)
The Betsy Tacy books! Oh, I love those and need to reread them, too.

Happy new year.
[identity profile] beth-shulman.livejournal.com wrote:
Jan. 4th, 2012 11:45 pm (UTC)
YES :D

Same to you!

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