2011

200 Books in 2011

3 Comments / 2011, Books in Bed /

I read a total of 200 books in 2011 (well 200 ¾ books since we’re still listening to The Marriage Plot on audio in the car.) Last year I read 229 books, which is why it felt like I wasn’t getting anything read and was falling further and further behind with my challenges and my TBR lists. Considering the kind of year I had – 200’s not too shabby.  Here’s the break down:

–       I read 3 books for the Adoption Challenge.

–       I read 76 books from the Cybils Shortlist. (Completed the challenge – just in time for the new list!)

–       Just 6 books From the Stacks, (which doesn’t count the books we acquired during 2011.)

–       Just 6 LGBT books – that’s embarrassing, really.

–       10 ¾ books on Audio.

–       I marked 86 books as Favorites.

–       And, 2 books as Do Not Read.

–       I read 43 Non-Fiction books.

–       52 Young Adult.

–       13 Graphic Novels.

–       And, 13 Nancy Drews.

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Three More Nancy Drews

2011, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Nancy Drew Challenge /

The Double Jinx Mystery – birds, birds, and more birds. I never did like this one, lol.

Mystery of the Glowing Eye – awesome. I love the robot helicopter and the glowing eyes and the magnet problem.

The Secret of the Forgotten City – oy. What are the odds? Really?  Full skeleton. Gold nuggets. Gold plates. Nancy is sometimes a little too hard to believe, ya know?

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A Tiffany Christmas

1 Comment / 2011, Books in Bed, Non-Fiction /

After reading that book about Jackie Kennedy Onassis and her time as an editor at Doubleday, I reserved a bunch of the Tiffany books she worked on with John Loring (and a few others that were published after she died) but the only one I’ve had a chance to read was  A Tiffany Christmas – which I read on Christmas Eve. It inspired me to wander through the Tiffany website looking for… baby gifts. I know, crazy, right? Tiffany has some weird power over people – it causes them to consider spending $125 on a silver apple feeding spoon for a grandchild.

Gah. I’m afraid to look at the Tiffany Pearls book…

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The Virgin Cure

2011, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction, Women /

Thank you @sassymonkey for sending me The Virgin Cure since it isn’t available in the US for months and months. After waiting YEARS for this book, it was totally sucking to have to wait any longer – not that it wasn’t worth waiting for, I’d just prefer we not have to wait YEARS for Ami McKay’s next book.

I loved Moth. I loved Dr. Sadie. I loved Mr. Dink. I even loved the characters we maybe weren’t supposed to love. Mrs. Wentworth was super creepy and I could have nightmares about a woman like that. Poor Mae. Poor Alice.  Poor Pear Tree, (OK maybe that’s going a little far – but seriously, great characters and setting. If I felt badly for a doggone Pear Tree, that’s got to tell you something about the book, right?)

I’d love to hear more about Moth – her days with the traveling show. I’d like to hear more about her taking in of girls and encouraging them to do great things. That was awesome. Go Moth! Heck, I’d even like to know what happened to Mae. And Cadet. And Rose. (We know what happens to Poor Alice.)  I even wonder what happened with Mr. and Mrs. Wentworth – after Moth told Mr. Wentworth what she told him… was that enough to set some evil things to happening at home? I sure hope Nestor is ok…

Oops. I am rambling, aren’t I?

Good books cause me to do that.

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Night Owls

2011, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Comics & Graphic Novels, Cybil Challenge, Young Adult /

And with Night Owls, I’ve finished the Cybils Shortlist for 2011. Yay me!

I had to buy Night Owls for Elly for Christmas in order to finish the challenge because my library didn’t have it. Which is a shame, for library patrons – it’s a great graphic novel. Well drawn. Well written. Well worth buying for Elly (and for me.)

The Timony twins are talented. Very talented.

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The Throne of Fire

1 Comment / 2011, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

I just don’t like the Kane series as much as either of the two Percy Jackson series. They’re good but not Percy Jackson good – which is why it took me a week to read The Throne of Fire.  It must have something to do with the Kane siblings because I really do like Egyptian mythology – more than I like either Greek or Roman mythology.

Next book – I’m not reading it anywhere near reading The Heroes of Olympus series. Maybe that will help?

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Dear Creature

1 Comment / 2011, Books in Bed, Comics & Graphic Novels /

Dear Creature is one of those impulse reserves that happens because I log into my library website and see the recently reviewed book covers and decide THAT looks interesting. It did – a graphic novel with a weird sea creature and Shakespeare… interesting, right?

And it was – sort of. It got a little muddled for me right in the middle, (I think it was the octopus orgasm), but picked up again toward the end. Zola was a butt and she deserved to be left behind. Hmph.

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Darth Paper Strikes Back

2011, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Favorites, Fiction, Young Adult /

I loved Origami Yoda so it’s not much of a surprise that I loved Darth Paper Strikes Back, is it?  I always worry a little bit about a second book in a series, after loving the first book so much but there’s nothing to worry about this one. I really, really loved the “bonus game included” bit. Brilliant. Clever. Oh so awesome. Even Harvey comes through in the end. I liked that.

Looking for a good ‘tween gift at the last minute? Buy both books and some awesome origami  paper.

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Reading Jackie

2011, Books in Bed, Favorites, Non-Fiction, Women /

My mother buzzed me to tell me that I should read Reading Jackie: Her Biography in Books – so I reserved it, even though my TBR list is huge.  TW read it first, as usual, and ranted a good bit about the author and about Jackie, too.

I didn’t find much to rant about, the author’s tone at times is a bit troubling – he’s a man, after all, but I’ve read worse. Jackie – well, she was born in the late 20’s.  Is it any wonder she didn’t want to be known as a brain? Her husband, the President, didn’t want her to be politically active – which also makes sense, look where that got Hillary decades later? Onassis was a dick, duh. All in all, I’d say there’s not much to complain about when you dig into who she was and what she did (or didn’t do.)

Looking at Jackie through the books she published at Viking and then Doubleday was interesting. I’ve only read a handful of them and now I find myself thinking about reserving a few more from the library.  Maybe I’ll start with the Tiffany books, just for fun?

Interesting book – if you’re at all interested in Jackie (and who isn’t, right?)

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