2016

Small Great Things

1 Comment / 2016, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction /

Damn Jodi Picoult (in a good way.)

If you’re not generally a fan or you used to be a fan but got tired of the formulaic stories, characters and writing … you need to read Small Great Things — particularly if you are WHITE. Particularly right now with P45 choosing White Supremacists for his team. (Have a clueless WHITE mom or sister or friend who loves to read? Buy her this book for Christmas… just sayin’.)

This is not a perfect book. It’s still formulaic. It’s still got everything a Jodi Picoult novel has, that you may not love or may be tired of, but it is a must read RIGHT NOW. (And, do yourself a favor and follow her on Twitter, as well. She’s done a very good job of speaking up and speaking out. I respect that and appreciate it.)

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3 More Cybils

2 Comments / 2016, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Cybil Challenge, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

Now, all that’s left are poetry, early readers, some non-fiction and… yea. A whole lot of books. Anyway, on with the tracking of the ones I have read…

Bone Gap was not the book I expected it to be. Which is impossible for me to explain (I’ve tried, TW doesn’t get it, lol) so I didn’t quite love it. I did like it, though. I think.

I did like Inheritance of Ashes but not as much as I expected to. I found both sisters to be a little… annoying, which made it hard for me to really care whether they could sort out their relationship.

Shadowshaper is the one I had heard almost nothing about (shocked, not shocked, sigh) and had no expectations about. I loved it. Even when I was cursing the damn #patriarchy (which was all the way through it.) Loved this one because I loved Sierra (and her grandmother, even if we only got to know her toward the end.)

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2 Cybils Shortlist, Middle Grade SciFi/Fantasy

3 Comments / 2016, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Cybil Challenge, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

I wasn’t really looking forward to either of these books but ended up enjoying both, though one more than the other…

I really loved The Dungeoneers. Some of the characters were really complex and that’s something I like in middle grade fiction. The good guy was a bad guy who maybe was also a good guy except he wasn’t. And, that was hard. I hope I can read the next one in the series. Someone remind me…

Mars Evacuees was the book I was saving for last because I wasn’t enthusiastic about it at all. I don’t really like “space fiction” all that much. (Don’t hold it against me, y’all.) And, true to form, TW liked this one more than I did. Something about the tone didn’t feel like it was middle grade. TW disagreed. I don’t know — it took me a long, long time to care at all about any of the characters and the ones I cared most about were not the “Mars Evacuees.”

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The Fog Diver

2 Comments / 2016, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Cybil Challenge, Favorites, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

My expectations for The Fog Diver were low. Another post-apocalyptic/middlegrade/ya/adventure book. Ho hum? OK not ho hum, because I LIKE this genre but still… turns out, this was one of the better ones.

Really clever cultural references gone wrong, gone very very wrong. Likable characters. A plot that moved fairly quickly. Mostly it was the cultural references that got me.

***

Off-topic but not really: I’m considering not doing the Cybils Challenge next year. Or ever again. It’s not that I don’t love these books, I do. But, so many of them are series’ books and I just can’t keep up with the series’ while also reading a bunch of newly introduced series. When I try, I find myself reading nothing but YA and Middle Grade fiction/scifi/fantasy. I need to find some sort of balance. So… stay tuned, this may be the last full shortlist challenge I attempt. Figures, since odds are high that I’m not going to successfully complete it, for the first time – ever.

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The Book That Matters Most

2016, Books in Bed, Fiction /

I should have been reading books from my Cybils Shortlist Challenge but instead I was reading stuff that’s been on my TBR list for awhile and finally arrived at the library for pick up. I’m glad I ditched my challenge in favor of The Book That Matters Most. (Even if I can’t figure out which book I’d choose. Which would you choose?)

This one was TOUGH in places because KIDS. Parenting (barely) adult kids who are struggling is TOUGH. Been there, done that, probably still doing it because KIDS, man. KIDS.

And then there was the ending. I saw it coming. Couldn’t believe it. Still can’t quite believe it. Pretty much hated it. (It’s been awhile since I said I hated the ending of a book, hasn’t it? Huh.)

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Reading in October

2016, Books in Bed, Reading /

It was another one of those weird months — this one was exceptionally weird since I traveled three times and that hasn’t happened in forever. And, of course, I don’t read much while I’m traveling. So. I’m going to need another couple of #fakereadathon days. (Speaking of which, we missed #readathon again. Sigh. It’s been a rough year. Next year will be better!) Onward…

Total read: 8

5 were from the Cybils shortlist
4 were graphic novels
1 was an audiobook
1 was non-fiction

Sheesh.

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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

2016, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Fiction /

I suspect I’m in the minority here but I liked Harry Pottery and the Cursed Child. I did. I really did.

It’s not a perfect book. There are a lot of things that left me shaking my head. But, all things considered, I wasn’t really disappointed. I do suspect it’s better as a play than it is a book but either way. I’m not sorry I read it. I’d read another.

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Four Graphic Novels

2016, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Comics & Graphic Novels, Cybil Challenge, Favorites, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Young Adult /

Lion of Rora was the graphic novel that I expected to like the least. Turns out, it was pretty darn good. Well drawn and well written.

I also really enjoyed Secret Coders #1 but was so annoyed when it ended. I understand cliffhangers but geez, really? You couldn’t give us just a tiny bit more??? Oy. (Also, those birds are kind of creepy.)

Ms Marvel was excellent, as expected.

And, the big winner for me was The Marvels. This was really well done. All graphic novel in the beginning and then text at the end. Beautiful. Also, sad.

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Cuckoo Song

2016, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Cybil Challenge, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

I’ve read some pretty weird books because of the Cybils Shortlist but this might have been one of the weirdest.

Cuckoo Song is dark, complex, deeply troubling in places and downright weird in others. TW didn’t finish it because it weirded her out. And, it’s middle grade. I would love to find some middle grade kids who have read this so that I can hear their take.

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The Useful Book: 201 Life Skills They Used to Teach in Home Ec and Shop

2016, Books in Bed, Non-Fiction /

The Useful Book is a pretty useful book, especially if you’re a younger person or someone who just never learned much about cooking and homemaking. That section was pretty detailed. The section that covers “Shop” was not quite as robust but was still pretty useful for things like “How to Clean Your Gutters” and “How to Replace a Light Fixture.”

It feels like an excellent book for a college student or a young person getting her/his first house/apartment.

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