Last one! Last one! And this, my friends, is a doozy. I have previously discussed (possibly in person and not so much via a blog) that I appear to read a ridiculous amount in the end of summer/beginning of Fall. This was true last year anyway–do you remember my stats for Sept/Oct? I think it was 48 and then 66 books read those months. Though lots were graphic novels. The same is true for August this year. Maybe it’s something to do with publishers rolling out a lot of new books in the August-December range for people to buy as Christmas gifts? I read some article about the publishing industry and that phenomenon recently. I think it also mostly has to do with how bored I am in the summer and how I am preparing for the September Big Book Sale in San Francisco and then recovering from said sale in October. Anyway it is a trend that needs more data because 2 years in a row is not cutting it as a sample size. Let us discuss again next Fall.
Stats:
Books Read: 46 (+5 unfinished)
Books Bought: 1
Books from Library: 44 (Horrifically Kris just told me that the Alameda library only allows 52 book requests A YEAR. I would have blown almost my entire allotment THIS MONTH.)
Books Loaned/Given: 5
Money spent (approximately): $11
Favorite Books: A tough call. I read a lot of books this month, yes, but did I really love any of them? Also, could I have? I mean I obviously read them so fast and multiples in a day it seems unlikely I could have truly appreciated anything enough to call it a favorite.
Well…I loved the experience of reading #3, 4, and 5 of the Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls series by Meg Cabot because that was an afternoon spent lying in bed with my cat reading one after the other while sunshine streamed in through the window and down across my legs. This was bliss to me and the books were adorable.
I also really enjoyed re-reading Uglies, Pretties, and Specials by Scott Westerfield. Though they were not quite as good as my memory of reading them the first time portrayed the experience.
I enjoyed Love in the Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas and Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. I both liked and vehemently disliked Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, the final book in the Hunger Games trilogy.
Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey was interesting with the Maori myths. Demon’s Covenant by Sarah Rees Brennan was not quite as great as the first in the series, but the interactions between the brother and sister were awesome and hilariously written.
And I liked the manga I read: Her Majesty’s Dog vols. 1-11 by Mick Takeuchi and Girl Got Game vols. 1-4 by Shizura Seino.
Least Favorite Books: Caught in Crystal by Patricia C. Wrede. Ugh. Bad fantasy. Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott. Ugh. Child rape and torture. Shut Up and Kiss Me by Christie Craig. Ugh. Bad romance. And Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Ugh. YA werewolves, PASS.
Book Quotes:
“Amelia smiled at her fondly. ‘No marriage stays in the same pattern forever. It is both the best feature of marriage and the worst; that it inevitably changes.'”
From Love in the Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas.
“I’ll tell them how I survive it. I’ll tell them that on bad mornings, it feels impossible to take pleasure in anything because I’m afraid it can be taken away. That’s when I make a list in my head of every act of goodness I’ve seen someone do. It’s like a game. Repetitive. Even a little tedious after more than twenty years.
“But there are much worse games to play.”
From Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.