Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Booking Through Thursday
It's the last day of the year, and you know what that means ... nostalgia and looking back.
What were your favorite books of the year? (Books that were new to you in 2009, if not necessarily published this year.)
I read quite a few great books this year and it was hard to pick out my favorites but I managed to! Out of the 77 books I read this year, my top 15 (because I couldn't possibly pick 10!) were, in no particular order:
1) Empire Falls - Richard Russo
2) The Adoration of Jenna Fox - Mary E. Pearson
3) The 19th Wife - David Ebershoff
4) Night - Elie Wiesel
5) Angry Conversations with God - Susan E. Isaacs
6) Inkheart - Cornelia Funke
7) North of Beautiful - Justina Chen Headley
8) The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield
9) The Book of Ruth - Jane Hamilton - a re-read for about the fifth time
10) Once was Lost - Sara Zarr
11) Geektastic - edited by Holly Black
12) Her Fearful Symmetry - Audrey Niffenegger
13) The Magicians - Lev Grossman
14) The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins - OMG! As good as everyone said it was!
15) Generation Dead - Daniel Waters
Review: Generation Dead / Daniel Waters
Title/Author: Generation Dead / Daniel Waters
Format / Pages: Hardback / 392 pages
Publisher: Hyperion
ISBN: 978-142310921-1
Genre: Young Adult
Source: Library
From the book jacket: All over the country, a strange phenomenon is occurring. Some teenagers who die aren't staying dead. They are coming back to life, but they are no longer the same. Termed "living impaired" or "differently biotic", they are doing their best to blend into society again.
But the kids at Oakvale High don't want to take classes or eat in the cafeteria next to someone who isn't breathing. And there are no laws to protect the differently biotic from the people who want them to disappear - for good.
With her pale skin and goth wardrobe, Phoebe Kendall has never run with the popular crowd. But no one can believe it when she falls for Tommy Williams, the leader of the dead kids: not her best friend, Margi, and especially not her neighbor Adam, the star of the football team. Adam has realized that his feelings for Phoebe run much deeper than just friendship. He would do anything for her - but what if protecting Tommy is the one thing that would make her happy?
First line: Phoebe and her friends held their breath as the dead girl in the plaid skirt walked past their table in the lunchroom.
My thoughts: Let me first say, they did not make books like this when I was growing up! While there were some very good young adult books when I was a teenager (back in the 90s!) the quality of young adult books has grown so much in the past few years - and this book is no exception.
Waters' first book is smart and funny, thought-provoking, and relevant to the problems teenagers face - although, admittedly, I don't think zombie-ism is running rampant right now. This fabulous book really held my attention. I couldn't put it down and when I turned the last page, the next thing I did was go right to my local library's website and put the next book in the series on hold. I can't wait to find out what happens next.
Format / Pages: Hardback / 392 pages
Publisher: Hyperion
ISBN: 978-142310921-1
Genre: Young Adult
Source: Library
From the book jacket: All over the country, a strange phenomenon is occurring. Some teenagers who die aren't staying dead. They are coming back to life, but they are no longer the same. Termed "living impaired" or "differently biotic", they are doing their best to blend into society again.
But the kids at Oakvale High don't want to take classes or eat in the cafeteria next to someone who isn't breathing. And there are no laws to protect the differently biotic from the people who want them to disappear - for good.
With her pale skin and goth wardrobe, Phoebe Kendall has never run with the popular crowd. But no one can believe it when she falls for Tommy Williams, the leader of the dead kids: not her best friend, Margi, and especially not her neighbor Adam, the star of the football team. Adam has realized that his feelings for Phoebe run much deeper than just friendship. He would do anything for her - but what if protecting Tommy is the one thing that would make her happy?
First line: Phoebe and her friends held their breath as the dead girl in the plaid skirt walked past their table in the lunchroom.
My thoughts: Let me first say, they did not make books like this when I was growing up! While there were some very good young adult books when I was a teenager (back in the 90s!) the quality of young adult books has grown so much in the past few years - and this book is no exception.
Waters' first book is smart and funny, thought-provoking, and relevant to the problems teenagers face - although, admittedly, I don't think zombie-ism is running rampant right now. This fabulous book really held my attention. I couldn't put it down and when I turned the last page, the next thing I did was go right to my local library's website and put the next book in the series on hold. I can't wait to find out what happens next.
Friday Finds
I'm a little late but here goes anyway!
What great books did you hear about this week? Share with us your Friday Finds!
Friday Finds is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.
This is what I saw on the blogosphere this week:
Lies My Mother Never Told Me - Kaylie Jones - seen on Luxury Reading
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe - J. Randy Taraborelli - as seen on Beth's Book Review Blog
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress - Rhoda Janzen - seen on Chick with Books
Quote of the Day
"There were moments when my heart ached for him: I loved him so much."
- Dreamland, Sarah Dessen
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Quote of the Day
"I was drowning in broad daylight and no one could tell."
- Dreamland, Sarah Dessen
Teaser Tuesdays
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Here's how it works:
- Grab your current read.
- Let the book fall open to a random page.
- Share two "teaser" sentences from that page.
- Share two "teaser" sentences from that page.
- Share the title and author of the book.
- PLEASE AVOID SPOILERS!
My teasers:
"His expression didn't change as he laughed again, the sound like that of someone heavy stepping on a dog's squeak toy.
Adam felt himself grinning."
- Generation Dead by Daniel Waters
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)