2008

2008 in Books

2 Comments / 2008, Books in Bed /

Even if I had the time to do a full year in review, I wouldn’t. I don’t think I could bring myself to look back or think back. I lived it once, I don’t particularly want to relive it, ya know? The year in books, though, that’s something else entirely.

* I read a total of 137 books. (I was hoping I’d finish one more before the day was over but I’m tired so I don’t think that will happen, if it does – I’ll strike out in the morning.)

* 18 non-fiction (ouch, how did that happen?), 50 YA (wow, I thought it was more!), 27 queer.

* I added 54 to my “favorites” tag and 8 to my “don’t read this” tag.

* 13 ere sequels to other books I’d read.

* I finished both the Printz Award Challenge and the From the Stacks Challenge. Yay me. Yay challenges. Yay I’m doing two just like this for 2009.

I think I need to add an “audiobooks” tag for next year, I don’t know why I haven’t added it before. Weird and kind of dumb.

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Websterisms

2008, Books in Bed, Non-Fiction /

I plucked Websterisms off of the “just back” shelf mostly because I thought TW would like it. She’s a big fan of the Webster. But, she turned up her nose at it. Weird.

I thought it would be a quick read during the crazy days leading up to Christmas so I put it on my nightstand ahead of some of the other novels waiting for me. It wasn’t a quick read, not in the beginning, but it was pretty interesting.

Once I got to the actual “dictionary”, I skimmed. Flipped the pages and read the definitions that popped out at me. Read the sidebar notes, stuff like that. This is the kind of book you just want sitting on your shelf so you can pick it up and choose a word just when you want to choose a word. Reading dictionaries all the way through is too much dictionary for me.

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Let It Snow

1 Comment / 2008, Books in Bed, Fiction, Young Adult /

OK, sassymonkey was right. I had to read Let It Snow and not because John Green and Lauren Myracle are two of the writers. I had to read it because there’s nothing better than Waffle House, cheerleaders and a LOT of snow. OK that snow thing, I could do without that and would love a Florida version of this holiday book. You hear that Green, Myracle and Johnson – get right on that. kthnxbai.

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Loose Girl

2008, Books in Bed, Non-Fiction, Women /

I don’t have much to say about Loose Girl. It was depressing. It reminded me of another book I read and can’t remember the name of. Same sort of thing – girl gets addicted to X, almost destroys her life, gets her life back on track – also an memoir.

That’s probably all I have to say – except that it’s too bad there are so damn many of these kinds of memoirs written by women. Is there a male equivalent memoir? If there is, could someone give me the name of the book, please.

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Cycler

2008, Books in Bed, Fiction, Queer, Young Adult /

Cycler is the weirdest YA book I’ve ever read. Weird and oddly compelling. I’m surprised at how much I’m interested in reading the sequel, particularly after the first chapter I wanted to throw the book across the room. I mean, please.

It’s a Dr Jekyl/Mrs Hyde – Teen Wolf sort of thing. Jack is seriously into the teen boy sex thing and there’s the whole bisexual issue. As Liz says it’s really trashy and it’s done just right – after you get past the first chapter and just let yourself go with it.

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Kissing Kate

2008, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Fiction, Queer, Young Adult /

Kissing Kate was a nice little lesbian YA book. A little too “perfect” – how many teens find exactly the kind of friend they need to help them deal with a problem like “Kate”? Not too many. Actually, I’m not too sure many adults find the perfect friend to help them deal with a problem like “Kate”.

Ah well, it’s feel good YA rather than problem YA. So, it’s all good.

And now that I’ve noticed Lauren Myracle is one of the authors in “Let it Snow”, maybe I’ll go pick that up from the library tomorrow. John Green and Lauren Myracle… must be good?

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The Jew Store

2008, Books in Bed, Non-Fiction /

I was ambivalent about reading The Jew Store and I’m not sure why. It was in the “book club” section of the library which generally means a lot of people liked it, so I shouldn’t have been wary. But, having grown up in the south and read an awful lot of books about race and culture in the south… I was afraid I’d hate it.

I didn’t hate it. It was good. It was often amusing. It wasn’t a great book but it wasn’t bad either. I liked the Bronson family. I liked the small town Tennessee people. It was all very nice, even the not so nice pieces were “nice” – and that’s probably why it wasn’t a great book, just a good one.

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The Miraculous Life of Edgar Mint

2008, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction /

It took me an awful long time to read The Miraculous Life of Edgar Mint and I don’t know why. It’s a pretty short book. It’s a very good book. I read a good while every night. It just seemed like it never ended – and then when it did, wah! That was NOT the ending I wanted. It wasn’t a horrible ending but still, sigh. I wanted the miraculous life to really end miraculously – but, life is miraculous even if it ends a wee bit differently than you might like it to.

Really. Very good book.

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Octavian Nothing: The Kingdom on the Waves

2008, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Fiction, Young Adult /

TW could not get into volume two, The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: The Kingdom on the Waves but I didn’t have a problem with it. I found it a much quicker read than the first one – the journal entries of Octavian were shorter and quicker.

I liked the new characters introduced but found the ending a little less than satisfying, particularly since it appears as though there will not be a third book.

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Change of Heart

2008, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction /

I was a little shocked to see a Picoult novel I hadn’t read just sitting on the library shelf. It made me nervous. I’m that disconnected from the library and reading that I haven’t read the latest Picoult? ugh. I need to get some library lists built and get serious about catching up! (And my 2009 challenges need to be less… challenging…)

So, I picked up Change of Heart and TW starts making Picoult jokes (like she always does) and about 3 pages into the book, I start making groaning noises. Picoult just gets more and more like a teen “problem book” with every new novel she puts out. When will it end? By 10 pages, I was making Picoult jokes. And I said to TW…

“I’d like to write Picoult a letter. I need her advice. Advice that only she can give that will drastically improve my quality of life. I’d like to know what products she uses on her hair.”

I went back to the book and about 50 pages later the woman ANSWERED MY QUESTION. I do believe she is The Messiah. I believe.

(And for those who have read this book, you’ll “get it”. Seriously. It was kind of weird to read that book and have her answer the question I really had just asked… all out of the blue and stuff. Very weird. )

Another winner from Picoult, jokes or no jokes – ridiculous problems or no ridiculous problems. Great characters. Interesting material. Fun to read even though it was hard to read.

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