Reading Roundup and More

My goodness, how can it already be mid-January!?

Here are the books I finished up December with:

Emily the Strange: Piece of Mind by Rob Reger and Jessica Gruner, illustrated by Rob Reger and Buzz Parker

This conclusion of the four Emily the Strange books doesn’t disappoint. Emily is as wonderful, crazy, creative, and unique as ever and the wrap up to the series leaves all the characters in the right place. The black and red illustrations also enhance the read.

Nation by Terry Pratchett

This teen novel isn’t set in Pratchett’s famous Discworld, but rather an alterative Victorian world which is just as fun. When a royal girl gets shipwrecked on an island where Mau is only native survivor to a horrific wave, the pair—and later the other survivors—must figure out what home, family, and community mean. The interactions between Mau and Daphne are both funny and though provoking and you’re rooting for them the whole time.

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Libba Bray’s Great and Terrible Beauty is one of my favorite books of all time, but her more recent writing has taken a different turn. Although I haven’t read her Printz-awarding-winning novel Going Bovine it’s clearly quirky (to say the least!). Beauty Queens is similarly off-beat. The premise is a beauty pageant meets Survivor—when a plane of contestants crashes in a seemingly deserted tropical island they must not only survive until rescued, but practice their pageant dances and keep up their beauty routines. Overall, I was disappointed by Beauty Queens. It’s so over the top that moments to explore relevant topics such as a girl’s place in society and how to balance numerous pressures could be tossed aside because nothing seemed serious. There were too many characters as well, and most didn’t go beyond a caricature. I applaud Bray for not shying away from portraying topics that are often taboo in YA literature—there is a transgendered contestant, a lesbian relationship, and multiple descriptions of various sexual activities. This could have been a very thought provoking novel if the absurdity of the situation and ridiculousness of the characters had been scaled back—however, most of this was overshadowed and lost.

Surrender by Lee Nichols

This is the conclusion to the Haunting Emma series—a trilogy that has special significance for me. Emma, Bennett, and the rest successfully hunt the ghosts that have been causing trouble since long before the book started. My favorite part about this series is the voice—Nichols manages to write in a voice that sounds just as if your best friend was telling you her adventures. Yes, there are some dorky puns and awkward joke about sex, but this somehow makes it feel more authentic than annoying. I’ve always found these books to be some of the more compelling paranormal out there.

The Wanderer by Sharon Creech

I enjoyed this novel quite a bit because there was more to this story than just a coming-of-age adventure. Not only is Sophie literally learning how to sail a boat across the ocean with her uncles and cousins, but there is an added depth to the story when readers discover, through cousin Cody’s journal entries, that there is some mystery as to Sophie’s past and how, despite being adopted, she claims to know the grandfather’s stories. Cody’s narrative was also charming in its humor and brevity making it more relatable than Sophie’s poetic outlook.

Picture book: Hugs from Pearl by Paul Schmid

        

Full Manuscripts: 5

So, for 2012 that leaves me at: 77 books and 66 full manuscripts. Not too bad!

My reading goals for 2011 were to read 10 historical fiction novels and finish up three 19^th century classics. Well, the second goal didn’t happen at all—there’s so much good YA out there!—but I did decently well with the historical fiction, coming in at eight books. I’m absolutely going to continue working on that, especially because there are several novels (What I Saw and How I Lied, The Vespertine, and Between Shades of Gray) that I still want to read!

I’m not going to set any reading goals for 2012—it’s clear that I read. A lot. And due to my job I read a wide range of genres. I still need to reopen those classics…but those will have to be saved for extra long vacations!

Do you have any reading goals for 2012?

Reading Roundup

Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom collected and edited by Leonard S. Marcus

I received this book from HarperCollins when I started my job since Ursula Nordstrom was the legendary head of Harper Books for Boys and Girls from 1940-1971. Normally, I’m not one to enjoy nonfiction. But there are three reasons why this book resonated with me 1) It’s fascinating to see how HarperCollins was run ‘way back then’ and awesome to read letters from Ursula to classic children’s book authors and illustrators: E.B. White, Garth Williams, Margaret Wise Brown, Maurice Sendak, etc. 2) Ursula Nordstrom had spunk and it clearly comes through in her personable letters.  Some of her one-liners literally made me laugh aloud as I was reading the book on the subway. 3) My great-aunt (who worked at Horn Book but I don’t know much about her career) is thanked in the acknowledgements, giving the book an even more personal touch. This is a recommended read for anyone who works in publishing.

Emily the Strange: The Lost Days and Emily the Strange: Stranger and Stranger by Rob Reger and Jessica Gruner, illustrations by Rob Reger and Buzz Parker

The Emily the Strange series is one of my boss’s favorite projects and because she works exclusively on it it wasn’t necessary for me to read the series right away. But on the other hand, because this series is so important to her, I wanted to read it and find out why. The answer is simple: Emily is awesome. Quirky, crazy, gothic…who goes on absurd aventures. In addition to this, the Emily books are actually Emily’s journals and are illustrated in black and red with her drawings, scribbles and Top 13 lists. There is so much spunk and personality in this series you can’t help but fall in love with Emily. I look forward to continuing the adventures with Emily the Strange: Dark Times and the soon-to-be-published Emily the Strange: Piece of Mind.

Bright Young Things by Anna Gobersen

I really loved Anna Gobsersen’s first historical fiction series, which started with Luxe. The first book in this series takes country girls Cordelia and Letty to 1920s New York City, where they get tangled up in illegal speakeasies, mobsters and lecherous Broadway producers. The plotting is predictable, but the characters are interesting and the Roaring Twenties really comes to life. The next book, Beautiful Days, comes out in September. (Historical Fiction Challenge Book #2)

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I had heard so many good things about this book and as it turns out it completely deserves the praise. Set outside of Munich during World War II, Liesel has a tough but enjoyable life, full of adventures including beating her best friend, Rudy, in soccer, and stealing fruit when the family’s rations aren’t enough. But when her foster family starts hiding a Jew in their basement, Liesel uses her newly acquired reading skills to bring hope to the entire village…even if that means stealing a few books in the process. The ending is heartbreaking, but luckily the unusual narrator, Death, likes to heavily foreshadow the events so readers know what to expect. And although Liesel is a young (13 years old) protagonist for a YA novel her story is so powerful and she’s amazing new addition to teen literature. A recommended read. (Historical Fiction Book Challenge #3)

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

I’ve been wanting to read this book ever since hearing Andrea Cremer speak at Books of Wonder in late March. Her ‘day job’ is a history professor at a college in Minnesota where she specializes in one of my favorite times: The Early Modern Period. This means she’s an expert in witch hunts and medieval war craft. Pretty cool, huh? And when she explained that that background went into the fantastical world she created for Nightshade, I was hooked. Overall, I liked the story but had a little bit of difficulty understanding the world. So many names were introduced without explanation and I couldn’t wrap my mind around the differences between Guardians and Keepers and Searchers for the longest time. The biggest downside-although this is silly one-is that Penguin is releasing all future books (the sequels, Wolfsbane and Bloodrose, as well as paperbacks for all the books) with a new cover image. I personally really like the original artwork, but even more to the point…now my series won’t match. L Oh well…I might just have to buy the first book again with the new cover!

Entwined  by Heather Dixon

This fairytale retelling is exactly what I want fairytale retellings to be: fantastical yet realistic, familiar yet original. I had previously mentioned this book and I’m so glad that I had that reason to push Entwined to the top of my TBR pile. The world Heather Dixon created is fabulous (I still don’t know if the dances she mentions are all real or not…but I believe in them!) and I particularly like some of the characterizations: Azalea, as the main character, is so relatable; her sister Bramble is so fun and her vocabulary is hilarious (she reminded me of a pants-wearing British woman from the 1920s if that makes any sense at all); and the King, their father, definitely grows the most and it was so nice to see him begin to care deeply for his daughters. Great retelling! A recommended read.

Manuscripts: 6

Ready, Set, READ!

Challenge #1:

I LOVE historical fiction.  If I had to pick one genre to read for the rest of my life, it probably would be that (sorry, paranormal romance, but you’re trendy and flighty.  I’ll stick with a solid and reliable and fantastic genre).  But so many teens today don’t feel the same way as I do- read some of my babbling on the fact that historical fiction should come back, and my thoughts that it won’t, at least, not this year (scroll to the very bottom of that post). But, to promote the genre and prove that there are AMAZING historical fiction picks out there, I’m going to be joining the YA Historical Fiction Challenge that the blog, YA Bliss, is hosting.  I’m going to be participating at a ‘level 2’, which means reading 10 YA or MG historical fiction books in 2011- that’s just under one a month.  I can do that!  Anyone can do that!

Up first is Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly (yes, I know some of it takes place in the present and there are fantastical elements, but it still counts!), then I’m thinking finally reading Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen (I’ve read the first couple chapters in Browse Inside and loved it) or maybe What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell.  I’ll keep you updated!

P.S. Run over to YA Bliss and check out the timeline they have of post-Civil War Historical Fiction (or click here).  It's pretty awesome!  If only there was one for earlier, as my favorite historical periods are Tudor England and Revolutionary America.  Perhaps I see a project in my future!

Challenge #2:

I really love classic literature, even long before taking very academic/literary criticism classes in college.  I fell in love with Thomas Hardy at 17, Charlotte Brontë at 18, Jane Austen at 19, and so on.  In college, I became aware of even more wonderful authors and novels: I had the wonderful opportunity to take an entire class devoted to Jane Austen’s works, another that looked at the Brontë sisters, one that focused on 17^th and 18^th century French and British literature and another that looked at Victorian lit (and was taught in London by a Brit, which added a nice layer to discussions). 

There are very few of the most classic of classic novels that I outright dislike (As a general rule, Russian lit and I haven’t gotten along, but besides that, we’re all friends).  Some novels, though, take me a while to read, even if I like them.  I didn’t love Pride and Prejudice until my second go-round (and now I’m a huge Janeit!).  Anna Karenina took me an entire summer (amidst other easier reads). And then there’s Middlemarch by George Eliot, Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray, and Tess d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy all sitting on my bookshelves, half read.  The BBC Book Challenge made me embarrassingly aware of that fact, and I know I can’t read all the remaining books on that list this year.  But I CAN finish those three- and that is my reading goal #2 for 2011.

Will you join me in these challenges or create one of your own?  Creating goals is always a great way to works towards achieving something (it feels so good when you can cross it off your to-do list!)…and with an aim to read more, everyone wins!