Meandering Along

Well, I saw this book cover. And it made me happy.

I saw this book cover.And I was thoroughly frightened. I’ve seen it before, but I guess I forgot how truly scary it is. (Btw, that book is so not worth reading. As a matter of fact, reading it may make you lose all faith in young adult books.)

I was also skimming through The Queen of Attolia(AWESOME BOOK!) by Megan Whalen Turner earlier, and I cannot get over how amazing this part is. (Okay, there are about ten million amazing parts in that book, but this one was really standing out earlier.)

“Attolia saw his smile, without any hint of self-effacement or flattery or opportunism, a smile wholly unlike that of any member of her court, and she hit him across the face with her hand. His head rocked on his shoulder. He made no sound but sank to his knees…”

How wow is that?

   So I’m really liking this idea of just picking out some of the books I’ve read lately and telling you how highly I recommend them. It’s much easier than writing a review, and people might get some ideas for what to read next. See, I love book recommendations. I just…I don’t know. I’ll wander around Amazon or GoodReads and not come up with anything new to read. For some reason I just like it better when someone says to me, “Oh my gosh! You must read this book!” Or when they go, “Ew! Do not read that one.” The latter helps me to know what could very well waste my time, and the former (hopefully) means I just may like it. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. But, hey. Different strokes for different people.

Anyhoo… Lately I’ve read:

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Recommended.

I don’t know. I guess technically this book isn’t the greatest thing ever, but it really is good and very gut-wrenching in places. I liked it muchly.

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headly

Definitely recommended.

Okay, I admit it. I expected to hate this book. Everyone was raving about it. *Everyone.* So I was just like, “Eh, I’ll just give this a shot and see what happens.” Well, what happened was that I liked it a whole, whole lot. Given the fact that I was feeling absolutely dreadful when I read it, I’m surprised I enjoyed it as much as I did. Most books I read when I’m in a bad/sad mood tend to get the hate treatment. (Yes, my emotions at the time help me decide how I felt about a book.)

Water Song by Suzanne Weyn

Recommended if you’re a fan of the “Once Upon a Time” Series. If you’re not, well, you may not be too fond of this.

Look, it was like every other book in this series. Short. Predictable. Slightly/Really cheesy at times. Very little character development.

It’s a Mall World After All by Janette Rallison

Recommended for lovers of chick lit.

Janette Rallison wields a rare power over me. She is one of the very few authors who has actually made me laugh out loud while I was reading. This book was good, clean, and fun chicklit. Awesome stuff.

Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan

Not recommended at all.

Every so often a book comes along that leaves me scratching my head and going, “What the freaking heck?” Yeah, that would be what this book did to me. And then after it ended I considered dropping it in a vat of burning oil. However, it was a library book. Sigh.

Something, Maybe by Elizabeth Scott

Recommended.

I heart Elizabeth Scott. End of story.

Sleepaway Girls by Jen Calonita

Definitely recommended for lovers of chicklit.

More clean and fun chicklit. Again, awesome stuff. Jen Calonita makes me smile.

So, dear readers, have you read any of these? Thoughts and opinions on them? I’d love to hear ‘em.

   Okay, so I have read some books lately that I found to be highly enjoyable. However, these book were not what I need. Well, today I figured out what I need. I need a good fantasy novel. Not urban fantasy. Not something science fiction-y. Something like Book of a Thousand Days or The Queen of Attolia or The Blue Sword. Problem: I’ve read all of those books several times. As much as I love them, I am not in the mood to reread.

   I was at the library the other day, hoping to find a good fantasy novel. I was feeling rather depressed that I had already read whatever looked good. As for the fantasy novels I found that I hadn’t read, I just…wasn’t going to read them. I know, I know. Don’t judge a book by its cover. But haven’t you ever read a book and been like “Ew, this just looks stupid.” I know I have. Of course, I’ve also read a book simply for its cover many, many times. Unfortunately, not all books live up to their cover. And then there are those books that deserve a better cover than the crappy one they’re stuck with. Ella Enchanted is the perfect example of that. That book deserves a cover way better than any of the ones I’ve ever seen for it. My copy has Anne Hathaway on the front. Anne Hathaway. Nothing against her or anything, but she’s not Ella. Or how about a book that doesn’t live up to its cover. The paperback of How to Ditch You Fairy is absolutely amazing. I love it. I really, really do. But I’m not so fond of the story inside.

Anyhoo…
Back to where I started. Does anyone have any recommendations for a good fantasy novel?

…And now there’s SEAMONSTERS! Hehe. I admit it. I find this highly hysterical. It cracks me up. Yes, I do utterly adore Jane Austen. Okay, maybe she is rolling in her grave, but then again…she did have quite a sense of humor. It’s just that…these books…it’s a funny idea, all right. My only excuse is that I have a very twisted mind and a very off sense of humor.

Sharry left a comment on my last post, leaving a link to a (horrors) tattoo of Edward Cullen. *shakes head* While it horrifies me, it did not surprise me. There’s something so wrong with that. I feel so desensitized.

Really I would. It occurred to me this afternoon that I haven’t really talked to anyone about books lately. Lemme tell ya–the thought is entirely tragic. I suppose it’s kind of my fault because I haven’t really been around to talk to people really. But even that isn’t my fault. This has been a busy and dramatic summer so far. So I blame summer. Anyhoo, I want to throw a few recommendations and non-recommendations here.

The Juliet Club by Suzanne Harper

Highly recommended.

I liked it muchly. I read it while I was up north last week in my spare time. It was exactly what I wanted to read; good, clean chicklit with a splash of Shakespeare and a classic hate-at-first-sight, comedy of errors romance. I loved the characters. Loved them.

Airhead by Meg Cabot

Sorta recommended.

I don’t know… It was a Meg Cabot book. That’s all I can really say. I definitely liked this one more than some of her other books (i.e. How to Be Popular and Teen Idol.) I did put the sequel, Being Nikki, on hold at the library. That tells me that I enjoyed to Airhead to some extent. (By the way, I have never liked one of Meg Cabot’s heroines.)

Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston

Recommended.

Well, it was a wondrous strange book. Yet, in some odd way, I enjoyed it. I’m rather enjoying my jump into urban fantasy. A few months ago I realized I hadn’t read much and decided I really ought to give it a try. It’s not my favorite genre, but I have read a few winners. Lament comes to mind.

Distant Waves: A Novel of the Titanicby Suzanne Weyn

Not recommended.

Eghad. This book just…wow. It’s…different. But not in a good way. If I told you, I would totally be giving away the ending. Let’s just say that I felt like throwing this book in a vat of burning oil.

Fly Girl  by Sherri L. Smith

Highly recommended.

This is one of the few book in the past few months that I have truly enjoyed. And that’s saying something, because I have not really been enjoying anything.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

Highly recommended.

It took me forever to read this. I swear everyone else has read this one already. I found it to be rather predictable, and the story fell apart a little for me toward the end, but I really enjoyed this one.

Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt

Very, very highly recommended.

Amazing, lovely, incredible book. The writing, the characters, the story. Everything.

Well, I’d like to hear something from the rest of ya’ll. Which of these have you read? How much would you recommend them? Thoughts or opinion on what you did or didn’t like? I’m highly curious.

    I’ve been reading quite a lot lately. Let’s see…  There was The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, Graceling, Impossible, Chalice, How to Build a House, and Princess Ben.

   I don’t have a whole lot to say on Disreputable History. I mean, it was interesting. I enjoyed reading it. It amused me. But, in the end, it didn’t feel particularly memorable.

   Graceling,however, I thought was quite good. It really snapped me out of my reading funk. It was the first book in a long time that had kept me reading to the point where I didn’t want to stop. (Maybe adventure/fantasy/romance is the way I should go next time I fall into a reading funk.) I only had a few problems with this book, but they didn’t hinder my enjoyment. Okay, so I totally snorted when the prince said his name was Po. What kind of a name is that? I honestly wonder if the author truly liked that name or if she was just lazy. Anyhow… Second problem was with Katsa. She’s not me. She has a right to live as she sees fit. But…I just got so annoyed with her when she was all “I want to have the power to just leave him at any time that I want.” Yes, I understand whyshe would feel that way. I just can’t imagine feeling that way myself. Sorry, but to be romantically involved with a person, I’d want to be perfectly sure and confident of him. Po and Katsa can’t be perfectly sure of each other if they’ve agreed that they can leave whenever they please. But, hey. That’s their call. My third problem was with King Leck. He was supposed to be scary. He should have been scary. (They talk about freaky things that he does.) But he never felt scary or intimidating to me. His character could have used some better development.

   I just had an afterthought… Maybe the real reason Katsa doesn’t want to marry Po is because of his name. *snickers*

   Anyway, I really did enjoy this book and I’d recommend it. I’m definitely looking forward to Fire and Bitterblue in the future.

   I didn’t think Impossible was that great. It wasn’t bad. It’s just that it was weird (not in a good way) in places. I really hate it when books switch POVs between several characters. Sometimes I don’t mind. Such as with East or No Shame, No Fear.

   Oh, and there was this one line that really made me kind of gag. I don’t know if I’d recommend it or not. Most people would like this book, I think. I’m just…not a fan. So I don’t really recommend or not recommend it.

   Okay, I love Robin McKinley. Yes, she has written stuff that I have not liked. (Deerskin and Sunshine.) But The Blue Sword is one of my favorite books of all time. Thankfully, I was not disappointed in Chalice. (And the cover is so pretty!) It had a very Robin McKinley feel to it. That’s about as coherent as I’ll be able to be about this book at this given time.

   Mmm, How to Build a House.Well, it wasn’t anything special, and it wasn’t anything horrible. Just meh.

   Gaaaah, Princess Ben.This book was just so… I don’t know. Annoying. I didn’t care for the voice, the story, the characters, or the “romance.” I still have Dairy Queen sitting on my nightstand, and I fully intend to read it. I just hope it’s considerably better and won’t leave me feeling like I wasted reading time.

   And right now I’m reading Suite Scarlett. I like it all right so far. It’s just that authors like Maureen Johnson and Meg Cabot all start to feel the same to me.

   Lastly, Ink Magegave me an award on her blog. Thanks, Ink Mage. I’m flattered. So, I shall now award five others.

Maya : Because she’s sweet and thoughtful and writes wonderful poetry.

Summermoon Because she’s so amusing in everything she blogs about.

Danielle Because she always puts a smile on my face.

Q Because she’s always fascinating.

Madison Because she is just so fabulously snarky.

This is what you guys are being awarded:

I saw this on GoodReads earlier. Just curious, but would any of you read this if you saw it at the library?