KateKintail's June Reading Log

[katekintailbc]

This is a recap of my June reading, for a swap-bot swap I signed up for. I chose to post it here so that I can format it the way I want. See below for a very brief recap of what I thought of the books along with a link to read more about my thoughts, if you so desire.

Here's a list of books I read during the month but didn't finish (or haven't finished yet):

• Star Wars Jedi Apprentice: The Followers by Jude Watson


• Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card


• The Sherlockian by Graham Moore


• Breakaway by Deirdre Martin


• The International Bank of Bob by Bob Harris

Here are the books I finished this month:

1. The Threat Within (Star Wars: Jedi Apprentice 18) by Jude Watson
   http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/177956.html
   Finally, a really nice return to the Master & Apprentice vibes I enjoyed from the beginning of the series. I loved watching them work together and on their own for the greater good


2. Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo
   http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/178500.html
   I read the entire book without realizing it was nonfiction. Which totally killed the way I perceived it. I didn't see a lot of hope in here, even though the subtitle is "Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity." It mostly just made me feel sad and depressed. I read this for the Nerdfighter book club but didn't get caught up on vlogbrother vids in time, so I missed out on discussion. Not feeling too bad about that, though, because this impressed and depressed me and I'm not sure I want to relive it at all.


3. Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems
   http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/178745.html
   I'd been wanting to read this series for a while, as I love Mo's Piggy & Elephant books. It took me a little while to get into the art style, but I finally found it charming and creative. And I loved stuffed animals as a kid so this was right up my alley.


4. Knuffle Bunny Too by Mo Willems
   http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/179160.html
   Aw! Trixie takes her precious knuffle bunny to school and it gets switched with a classmate's! Oh noes! Adorable, though.


5. Knuffle Bunny Free by Mo Willems
   http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/179421.html
   Awww. Trixie grew up in a way I never have, and I admire her for that. This one was an emotional ride, but I loved finding out what happens to her knuffle bunny, especially with the bit at the very very end.


6. Hawkeye, Volume 1 by Matt Fraction, others
   http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/179659.html
   I'm obsessed with these comics. It was a fantastic look at Hawkeye. The second I finished it, I wanted to restart the book and experience it all over again. One of the best investments I've ever made. I am so glad I finally bought it *snuggles book* Seriously. I loved this thing.


7. Love Circles by Laura Carboni
   http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/180019.html
   A different sort of yaoi, set in Italy. It seemed pretty predictable for a while but didn't play out exactly as I'd expected. I liked the song notes at each chapter. And I liked the art a whole lot more than I thought.


8. Tricky Prince by Yukari Hashida
   http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/180226.html
   A yaoi manga with a prince and a student and their love/hate relationship. Good interactions/complications and a satisfying surprise ending.


9. Picnic by Yugi Yamada
   http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/180506.html
   A June yaoi manga (hey! I read a June manga in June! I'm only just realizing that) that's another collection of short stories. I lost the thread of a few of the stories, but there were some I really loved, especially "But Sometimes You're Kind" because awwww.


10. Happy Yaoi Yum Yum Volume 1 by Yamila Abraham, Grace Hume, W.H. Tony
    http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/180985.html
    Hard yaoi, so it's kind of hard to review objectively. Some interesting stories and some very hot art in the gallery in the middle of the book. Yup.


11. Crimson Snow by Hori Tomoki
    http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/181114.html
    I loved the main story (that came back with another bit at the end, when I wasn't expecting it) because I adore hurt/comfort and angst and that's 90% of the story. There was another story in the series I didn't like at all (kind of creeped me out). So it balanced out to an okay book


12. Little Cry Baby by Keiko Kinoshita
    http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/181379.html
    I didn't love the main story, but I liked some of the other stories in the volume. A nice, light, yaoi read


13. ECHO: A Chronological History 1968-2010 by Various people
    http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/181696.html
    A year-by-year history of the donation center in my hometown where I used to volunteer in high school. It was wonderful to learn about how it started and all the changes it went through over the years.


14. The Girl Who Was On Fire edited by Leah Wilson
    http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/182224.html
    A critical analysis of the Hunger Games series. Interesting to hear what these YA authors had to say about different aspects. There were some boring essays. There were some obvious observations. And there were some really great thoughts I'd never thunk before. So I'm glad I read it.


15. First Grade Ladybugs by Joanne Ryder
    http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/181922.html
    I picked this up at a Little Free Library for a friend and it was registered on BookCrossing, so I read it so I could leave a good journal entry. It was nice but not really as informative as I'd expected it to be


16. Deceptions (Star Wars: Jedi Apprentice Special Edition 1) by Jude Watson
    http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/182367.html
    The first of two special editions in the JA series. It was sent after one of the biggest storyarcs in the series (one I actually liked). And it was a story that started with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan and continued into the future with Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker. It was great getting so much of Obi changing over the years too.


17. The Scarecrow and His Servant by Philip Pullman
    http://katekintailbc.livejournal.com/182624.html
    In which I once again realize that I do like fantasy but I do NOT like magical realism. This book was a little too strange for me. I liked certain parts, and I loved the characters, even when I thought the scarecrow was a silly turniphead (no, seriously, he has a turnip for a head). Yeah. Strange.

Here are the books I re-read this month:

1. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman- I read this a few years back, not long after it came out. I started reading it again for my Harry Potter meetup group (we had a book rec meetup and that's the one the won the popular "let's read this together!" vote). I enjoyed it more the second time around, actually. Bod is a great main character and it's fun to dive into his unique world of the graveyard in which he lives as well as to figure out the mystery of who wanted his entire family killed. However, I didn't re-read it in time for the discussion with my friends about it. Also, I wasn't feeling up to going. Oh well. Still a great read.

So.. yeah. I read a lot more than usual this month. My secret? I got my gallbladder out! There wasn't a whole lot I could do for a few days except click around the Internet and read. Sadly, it is an excuse you can only use once, so choose wisely :-)

Happy reading, everyone!