The Books of 2011

Happy new year!

As promised, here's the full list of everything I read in 2011.

1. The Playboy of the Western World - JM Synge
2. New Moan - Stephfordy Mayo
3. The Awakening - LJ Smith
4. The Struggle - LJ Smith
5. Scott Pilgrim Vol 1 - Bryan Lee O'Malley
6. Scott Pilgrim Vol 2 - Bryan Lee O'Malley
7. Booky Wook 2 - Russell Brand
8. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
9. The Fury - LJ Smith
10. North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell
11. The Reunion - LJ Smith
12. Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
13. Good Morning, Midnight - Jean Rhys
14. The Return: Nightfall - LJ Smith
15. The Doomspell - Cliff McNish
16. The Return: Shadow Souls - LJ Smith
17. Plain Truth - Jodi Picoult
18. The Return: Midnight - LJ Smith
19. Glass Houses - Rachel Caine
20. The Dead Girls' Dance - Rachel Caine
21. Midnight Alley - Rachel Caine
22. Feast of Fools - Rachel Caine
23. Lord of Misrule - Rachel Caine
24. Carpe Corpus - Rachel Caine
25. Fade Out - Rachel Caine
26. Kiss of Death - Rachel Caine
27. Ghost Town - Rachel Caine
28. Bite Club - Rachel Caine
29. Harvesting the Heart - Jodi Picoult
30. Birth of a Killer - Darren Shan
31. Wintercraft - Jenna Burtenshaw
32. Stefan's Diaries: Origins
33. Dating Hamlet - Lisa Fielder
34. Marshmallow Magic and Wild Rose Rouge - Karen McCombie
35. Evermore - Alyson Noel
36. Paper Towns - John Green
37. Blue Moon - Alyson Noel
38. Shadowland - Alyson Noel
39. The Scent of Magic - Cliff McNish
40. Those Left Behind - Joss Whedon
41. Beastly - Alex Flinn
42. Radiance - Alyson Noel
43. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
44. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
45. An Abundance of Katherines - John Green
46. W.B.Yeats Poetry - W.B.Yeats
47. Dark Flame - Alyson Noel
48. Batman: Year One - Miller
49. Songs of Innocence and Experience - William Blake
50. Night Star - Alyson Noel
51. Everlasting - Alyson Noel
52. The Wasteland - TS Eliot
53. The Franklin's Prologue and Tale - Geoffrey Chaucer
54. A Passage to India - EM Forster
55. Last Breath - Rachel Caine
56. The Saga of Darren Shan Vol. 1 - Darren Shan
57. Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Jeff Kinney
58. The Magic of Christmas - Trisha Ashley
59. Let It Snow - John Green, Maureen Johnson & Lauren Myracle
60. Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green & David Levitham

New Tallies!!

Books Read in 2012 - 0!
Currently Reading - Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - David Levitham

Book Haul: The Christmas Edition

Merry Christmas!

As always, Santa did well this year and brought me some shiny new books for Christmas.
I have already reviewed one but i'll still add it here, just for fun.

1. Let It Snow - John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle
2. Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green
3. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
4. The Shadow Wife - Diane Chamberlain


Very happy with my haul! I look forward to reading and reviewing these as soon as possible a long with a ton of other books that I have planned. As mentioned in a previous blog post, there will be more activity on this blog in 2012 (and hopefully someone will actually READ this blog :P).
Until then, keep reading!

Let It Snow - Green, Johnson & Myracle

Beautiful presents wrapped in ribbons, and multicoloured lights glittering in the night through the falling snow. A Christmas Eve snowstorm transforms one small town into a romantic haven, the kind you only see in movies. Well, kinda. After all, a cold and wet hike from a stranded train through the middle of nowhere would not normally end with a delicious kiss with a charming stranger. And no one would think that a trip to the Waffle House through four feet of snow would lead to love with an old friend. Or that the way back to true love begins with a painfully early morning shift at Starbucks.
Thanks to three of today's best-selling teen authors - John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle - the magic of the holidays shines on these hilarious and charming interconnected tales of love, romance and breathtaking kisses.

Followers of my blog will know that I am a big fan of John Green and his books so it probably comes as no surprise that this book was no exception and I 100% love it, and recommend it.

Aside from that little note, this is not just a John Green book. A collaborative effort between Green, Johnson and Myracle turned into something magnificent and will now forever be my favourite Christmas book, and top 5 all year books.

Let It Snow is three completely different stories that occur at the same time, same town and has mentions and appearances from characters in each of the stories, so you can always get a little fix from the previous one. I know that was a good thing for me anyway as I really didn't want to leave the characters from any of the stories once i'd grown to love them.

The writing styles of Green, Johnson and Myracle all seem quite similar to me. This is a GOOD thing as they are continuously easy to read, follow and love. I'm not sure if this is intentional or a happy chance as I haven't yet read any more of Johnson or Myracle's works.

The stories contain a heavy amount of snow which is WONDERFUL. I live in a very rainy place where snow is practically a myth, so to get the feeling of a real white Christmas filled with adventure was perfect and made me want to snuggle up in pjs whilst reading. The adventures are exciting and unpredictable too!

As the blurb suggests, there is a lot of teens and a lot of romance - but not in the tacky way that some books have. The characters are genuine, real and identifiable and as I keep repeating - so very LOVEABLE!

I'm sad to have reached the end of the book in such a short time (literally just a couple of hours) as I couldn't put it down, but I loved every word on every page and I wish more great authors would do collabs like this. In fact, Let It Snow is probably the only reason I have any Christmas spirit at all this year :)

The Magic of Christmas - Trisha Ashley

In the pretty Lancashire village of Middlemoss, Lizzy is on the verge of leaving her cheating husband when tragedy strikes and she finds herself widowed. Her Christmas Pudding Circle - a group of friends swapping seasonal receipes - offers her a welcome distraction, whilst a simmering rivalry with local cookery writer Nick erupts over who will win Best Mince Pie at the village show...


Meanwhile, the whole village is gearing up for the annual Boxing Day Mystery Play. But who will play Adam to Lizzy's Eve? Could it be the handsome and charismatic soap actor Ritch, or will someone closer to home win her heart? Whatever happens, it promises to be a Christmas to remember!

Last year, I read one of Ashley's books and absolutely loved it, so when I was given this as a pre-Christmas gift I was very happy :)

The Magic of Christmas was a slow starter and it took me until about half way through to really  get in to it.
The stories/relationships between the characters was lovely and homely and I did feel attached to Lizzy and enjoyed hearing about her son Jasper and the start of his university life.

One of the main things I enjoyed about this book was the references to other literary works such as classic Shakespeare plays and Synge's 'Playboy of the Western World'. It always makes me feel good when I understand the intertextuality in a book! It makes me feel like my lectures are paying off ;)

The biggest downside to the book for me, is that there wasn't enough Christmas. The title of the book and the blurb on the back promises lots of Christmassy fun when in fact, there isn't. More than half of the book is the lead up to Christmas when there is occasionally mention of Christmas Cake and mince pies and the rest is post Christmas with a few short pages regarding the day itself! I figured the book itself is more about the relationships between characters but I do feel a little cheated out of Christmas reading.

That said, it was a good, quick read and didn't take too much thinking about which is perfect for the season as it's been so busy around here with Christmas and exams coming up! I probably won't read it again but it'll sit happily on my bookshelves just waiting to be discovered again.

Last Breath - Rachel Caine (Morganville #11)

No blurb for this book as it has been loaned out!

It's been a while since I read this book now and I have a ton of catching up to do but here goes.

In my opinion, the Morganville series is going stronger, perhaps even stronger than ever. Despite Last Breath being book 11 in a what seems to be never-ending series - i'm still wishing for more.
The adventures of Claire, Shane, Eve and Michael are better than ever in this book and for the first time, I genuinely worried for their safety. Last Breath is also the first Morganville book I have honestly sobbed over! At every point in the book, I wasn't sure what was going to happen to the foursome and whether they could overcome the trouble that Morganville and it's vampires had in store for them.

Myrnin, as usual, was as ambiguous as ever and one of my favourite things about the series is that I absolutely adore him, and still don't know whether to trust him! Though I think my opinion on Myrnin has now been set for good (spoiler free blog, remember! - unless stated otherwise anyway).

It's not my favourite book of the series (not that I could decide anyway!) but I enjoyed it so much. I don't think i'll ever be ready to leave Morganville but thankfully there is still at least ONE more book on the way...

The Saga of Darren Shan Vol.1

Art by Takahiro Arai

Darren Shan was just an ordinary schoolboy until his visit to the Cirque Du Freak. There he meets Madam Octa and her master, and after that nothing is ever the same again.

Last year, I worked my way through all of the books in the Saga of Darren Shan and loved them despite hearing that they were children’s books. So when I recently saw this copy in a local bookstore for £1.99 I just HAD to have it. This is the first section of Cirque Du Freak, but in manga. I don’t own many manga’s so that was another reason to have this book in my collection, and it’s also the first “real” one I own. Meaning that the book is flipped so you read it backwards and from right to left. I’m sure you know the deal…

Despite the obvious need to condense the story in order to fit in the spectacular art work by Takahiro Arai, the story was pretty complete. As I said, the artwork itself (which is equally, if not more important, than the text) was truly amazing. I recommend this book to any Darren Shan fan and anyone who appreciates fine drawing. The RRP for this book is £5.99 which is reasonable but if anyone plans on buying it then definitely look around as it’s MUCH cheaper than that. My copy was bought from a shop called The Works.

50 Book Challenge

I have completed the Goodreads 50 Book Challenge - early!

I thought this definitely needed blogging about. I'm actually really proud of myself for finishing. It's been a tough year for me personally and I felt that my reading had been quite slow but considering everything, it is fantastic! Originally I had planned to post a full list of everything I had read for the challenge, but as I may or may not have explained before, Goodreads isn't the full list. I had forgotten a lot of dates of the things i'd read so they didn't count, unfortunately. I'm actually closer to 60, but still :)

Instead, as i'm still reading and the year isn't over, I decided that i'll post an actual complete list all everything i've read since 1st January 2011 - 1st January 2012 in the new year :)

I enjoy writing this blog a lot, so I have also decided that i'll make it more active. Right now i'm just reviewing a book every so often rather than every one that I read. I'll change that to each book, plus i'll do book haul posts. I have been considering making videos to accompany these blog posts but I certainly don't have a face for the camera so we'll see. I will work something out!

If anyone reading this cares to follow my Goodreads account then it can be found here.
Good luck to everyone else that is frantically making their way to the end of the challenge, and here's to preparing for it all over again in the new year!

Everlasting - Alyson Noel

Ever and Damen have loved and lost each other for hundreds of years - facing deadly enemies, dark secrets and a powerful curse. Now their love will be tested to its limit.
Ever and Damen finally have the chance to discover their true destiny. The choice they're about to make will unite them - or tear them apart - forever.

*Contains spoilers*
 
The last book in the Immortals series is very different from the five previous stories. We get to delve deeply into Ever's previous lives and there are so many connections to be made with not just Ever and Damen, but ALL of the characters.

I have a bit of a problem with the middle of the book. When it is revealed that Ever, Damen, Jude, Drina, Roman, Ava, Romy, Rayne, Haven and whoever else I may have missed, have been vital from the *first* life right up until this one, and will continue to be important - things get a bit silly. It's really hard to concentrate on and there is a lot of information to take on board. It just seemed as though Noel had something important to say and never really got there.
As always though, that's purely my opinion.

I DID enjoy the book though. The ending was beautiful and though it played out exactly as I thought it would, it wasn't boring in the slightest. Who doesn't love a visit from Riley? ;)
I'm going to be a little bit lost for a while having no Immortals to keep me company, but i've had fun with Ever's story and it's time to put her away and move on...!


Books Read In 2011: 53

Dark Flame - Alyson Noel

Roman. Damen. Jude. One is Ever's deadly enemy. One her great love. And the third might be the answer to all her problems. But Ever is trapped - bound by secrets, magyck and an uncontrollable passion beating in her veins.


She's being drawn towards someone - something - that risks everything she holds dear. And the one thing that can save her will also drive Damen away forever...

Book 4 in the Immortals series was such a big improvement on the previous 2 books. I was beginning to wonder if Noel had lost her way a little during the series but I am SO glad that i'm hooked again. The relationships that have been made and severed in this book are so big that I simply can't wait to see what becomes of it. Ever is once again becoming a character that I like and am interested in and I think the development of Haven is brilliant. It'll be interesting to see the dynamics between the two of them once Miles is back in town.

To anyone out there, who like me, lost interest over book 2 and 3, then I urge you to keep on reading as it does get much better :)

Unfortunately it's going to be a while until I can read the next in the series but it is definitely on my list of Christmas reading!

Currently Reading: - Yet to be decided.
Books Read In 2011: 48

An Abundance of Katherines

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type is girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact. On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an over-weight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun - but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and may finally win him the girl.

John Green's Printz award winning book, An Abundance of Katherines, as the books i've read previously by him, didn't fail to win me over.

As with Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns, I instantly became involved with the main character and just couldn't get enough from him! Colin is a character that almost everyone can relate to. I know that I definitely struggle with the possibility that I might not do anything that matters. To a degree, everyone wants their Eureka moment and so we're routing for Colin to find his, and hope that it works out.

The plot itself is something else that people can identify with. Growing up, loving and losing is all an experience that eventually makes us who we are, but there is always someone from the past that makes you think about past/present/future decisions, and sometimes it's very difficult to let go of that.

Following Colin's story was exciting, interesting and sometimes a little bit crazy. As the blurb suggests, Colin is working on a Theorem. Obviously, this includes a LOT of maths and Green provides all of the details in either footnotes, general explanations, diagrams and an appendix dedicated to the math work. Don't be put off though! The math isn't essential to the story and you're invited to skip over it if it doesn't interest you and the story isn't effected at all. It is an interesting read though - even for a maths hater like myself.

As always, (well, so far!) I highly recommend this book and the writing style is similar to his other books so please check them out if you enjoy this one!

Green's new novel "The Fault in our Stars" is available to pre-order EVERYWHERE, NOW! All pre-orders are GUARANTEED to be be signed by John himself.

Currently Reading: Dark Flame - Alyson Noel
Books Read In 2011: 46