KateKintail's June Reading Log

[katekintailbc]

This is a recap of my June reading, for a swap-bot swap I signed up for.

I am usually in the middle of three or four books at once in various locations--the one by my bed, the one in my car (audio book), the one in my purse (lines/doctor's appointments), etc. I also occasionally stand in the middle of the children's section at the library during my volunteer shift and read picture books. It just happens. LOL This month, I added a new spot: during lunch in my living room with my cat.

Here's a list of books I read during the month but didn't finish:

• Star Wars Jedi Apprentice: The Hidden Past by Jude Watson


• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling


• Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller & others


• The Wooden Sea by Jonathan Carroll


• Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke


• The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Here are the books I finished this month:

1. A Writer’s Book of Days: A Spirited Companion & Lively Muse for the Writing Life by Judy Reeves: http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/135989.html
   I haven't finished writing the prompts in this book, but I did read the book in time for a swap-bot writing book review swap.


2. Star Wars Jedi Apprentice: The Dark Rival by Jude Watson: http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/136295.html
   It was fascinating to see Xanatos for the first time in canon, having encountered references to him many times in fanfiction over the past decade. I enjoyed watching Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon getting to know each other, fighting together, and eventually becomming Padawan and Master. Awwww.


3. Divergent by Veronica Roth: http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/136460.html
   A fantastic dystopia where future Chicago is divided up into factions based on their defining characteristic/value. Tris, the main character, is brave beyond comparison and thrust into situations she couldn't have imagined when she gives up her family in her current faction and chooses another. I thought the world was done very believably and the characters were great. I know future books revolve around Tris and the characters we see here. But it would be fascinating to see each of the four factions the way we see Dauntless in this book.


4. The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling: http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/136752.html
   This is a good book with some realistic, hearty drama in a believable small town. However, the pace was kind of slow for me and I wasn't drawn into it as deeply as I would have liked. I liked a few of the characters, though all are flawed in different ways.


5. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater: http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/136960.html
   I like werewolf stories and YA, so this was a book I'd been meaning to read for a while. I enjoyed the werewolf mythos in this book and the love story built on top of it. I'll definitely read the next book in the series.


6. The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana by Umberto Eco: http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/137222.html
   This was my first Umberto Eco book. it came to me from a BookCrossing friend who knows I enjoy a good audiobook. This story was of a man named Yambo who loses all his personal memory of who he is but remembers all the books/stories/comics/music he has ever experienced. So he goes on a journey to rediscover himself, through literature, through his journales, etc. The reader of this book did an excellent job with the accents. And there were many beautiful moments in the book. However, there were also some parts with too many details. The ending felt a bit anticlimatic to me, but there were many moments throughout I enjoyed.


7. Brisbane by Steve Parish: http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/137830.html
   A travel book of photos of Brisbane--everything from the reflection of skyscrapers in the bay filled with boats to people riding bikes across a bridge to a Priscilla bus in downtown! A fun, quick. lovely look at many aspects of this city.


8. Sector 7 by David Wiesner: http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/137998.html
   A beautiful, award-nominated picture book that sparks imagination. It's a fun story about a friendship between a mischievous cloud and a young boy.


9. Wallace's Lists by Barbara Battner and George Kruglik: http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/138468.html
   A children's book about an obsessive, list-making mouse I can relate to and his new neighbor, a free-spirit of a mouse eager to turn Wallace's world upside-down.


10. This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen: http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/138574.html
    A tale of morality about a little fish who steals a hat from a big fish and is certain he will get away with it. Adorable, award-winning, and dark!


11. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell: http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/138962.html
    An emotional journey with two teens who stepped right out of my childhood. A familiar world. Familiar sorts of characters. But a unique look at brilliant, realistic characters from different worlds and the beginnings of a fist love. All I want to do since finishing this book is hug it tight.

That's my June! I got a lot of books finished finally :-) Happy reading to everybody in July!

Comments

[discoverylover.livejournal.com]

You should read Attachments by Rainbow Rowell, it's even more wonderful than Eleanor & Park!