Book Haul and May Wrap Up!

I didn’t splurge too much this month but I did get some really awesome books I am excited to sink my teeth in. Some of them, I have read and wanted for my collection.

For Review

I’m excited to read Control both because of its author and the content. Emerald Green I have already read and loved. Review will be posted closer to release date. Gorgeous and Open Straight were both unsolicited copies from Scholastic Canada as were Tarnished, Mending the Moon and The Planet Thieves which were sent by Tor. A Fool’s Errand, the second one in Maureen Fergus’s Gypsy King series was sent by the publicist after I, you know, asked her for it. I’m quite excited about that one.

Gifted

Twilight, I bet some eyebrows rose at the book considering I haven’t made my disdain for it a secret. But it was given to me by friends in the MACL program because I’m going to be using it in my thesis and they found a secondhand copy at a thrift store. Zach’s Story was published by the CWC Society that I do editing work for and this is a student story that won a prize and they had it bound and illustrated. It’s a holocaust book and while I don’t know the literary merits of it, it’s quite beautifully bound.

Purchased

The Butterfly Mosque by G. Willow Wilson
I’ve been meaning to read this one for ages and I finally couldn’t resist it so I bought it!

Tiger Lily – Jodi Lynn Anderson
I’ve read this and adored it even though it broke my heart to so many pieces.

The Day Before – Lisa Schroeder
Read this one too and adored it so when I found it at a thrift store in new condition, I snatched it up for my collection.

The Queen of Attolia – Megan Whalen Turner
I’m a bit sad that the first two hardcovers don’t match the latter ones but now I have the first four, though I know two or more are still in the works. But since each book is a complete story on it’s own, I’ll probably start reading this sooner rather than later.

The Jewel of Kalderash – Marie Rutkoski
Rutkoski is a good writer, this much I knew, so I was utterly bemused by the insanity that was The Shadow Society. But that aside, I have now the complete trilogy and can read the second and third books. Eventually.

These all the books I got for this month. What’s new on your shelves?

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Now for the wrap up! 39 books read this month. They are, in no particular order,:

1. The Hallowed Ones – Laura Bickle
2. The Murmurings – Carly Ann West (ergh)
3. Transparency – Frances Hwang
4. Chantress – Amy Butler Greenfield
5. White Crow – Marcus Sedgwick
6. Basho and the Fox – Tim J. Myers
7. The Reluctant Dragon – Robert D. San Souci
8. The Ladder – Halfdan Rasmussen
9. Zen Ties – Jon J. Muth
10. The Ruby in the Smoke – Phillip Pullman
11. All Our Yesterdays – Cristin Terrill
12. The Girl with the Silver Eyes – Willo Davis Roberts
13. The Bitter Kingdom – Rae Carson
14. Spirit and Dust – Rosemary Clement-Moore
15. The Burning Sky – Sherry Thomas
16. Golden – Jessi Kirby
17. Love Among the Particles – Norman Lock
18. Zenn Scarlett – Christian Schoon
19. What I Did. – Jason
20. Outcast  – Adrienne Kress
21. Goodbye Tsugumi – Banana Yoshimoto
22. The First Escape – G. P. Taylor
23. Good as Lily – Derek Kirk Kim
24. Handbook for Dragon Slayers – Merrie Haskell
25. Fragments – Dan Wells
26. Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things – Ted Naifeh
27. You Don’t Know Me – David Klass
28. Night of the Gargoyles – Eve Bunting
29. The Pirate’s Wish – Cassandra Rose Clarke
30. Emerald Green – Kerstein Gier
31. The Sweet Dead Life – Joy Preble
32. India Black – Carol K. Carr
33. Bind Willow, Sleeping Woman – Haruki Murakami
34. The Shambling Guide to New York City – Mur Lafferty
35. Enchanted Inc. – Shanna Swendson
36. Mountain Echoes – C. E. Murphy
37. The Tiny Wife – Andrew Kaufman
38. Lady Lazarus – Michelle Lang
39. The Runaway King – Jennifer A. Nielson

April Round-Up

So in April, I read. A lot. I also finished my first full school year of grad school though summer classes lie waiting for me. It was good, it was fun. I had fun learning and being generally happy about school. Here are the books I read:

1. In the Shadow of Blackbirds – Cat Winters (loved it)
2. Transparent – Natalie Whipple (It was good-ish)
3. Magic on the Storm – Devon Monk (It was good)
4. The Cinnamon Peeler – Michael Ondaatje (Liked the ones I could get)
5. Story’s End – Marissa Burt (Meh)
6. How to Tell if You Cat is Plotting to Kill You – Matthew Inman (Didn’t like it as much as I thought I would)
7. Infinity and Me – Kate Hosford
8. Griffin and Sabine – Nick Bantock
9. Token – Alisa Kwitney
10. Vengeance Born – Kylie Griffin (I thought this was a fantasy and not a romance! Blergh.)
11. Ink – Amanda Sun (sigh)
12. Hark! A Vagrant – Kate Beaton (Hilarious)
13. Rookie Yearbook One  – Tavi Gevinson
14. Shadowfell – Juliet Marillier
15. This is Shyness – Leanne Hall
16. Friday Brown – Viki Wakefield
17. The Cadet of Tildor – Alex Lidell
18. The Originals – Cat Patrick
19. The Lucy Variations – Sara Zarr
20. Love and Leftovers – Sarah Tregay
21. Blunderbuss Wanderlust – David Shapiro
22. Mortal Fire – Elizabeth Knox
23. River Road – Suzanne Johnson
24. The Gathering Dark – Christine Johnson
25. Parallel – Lauren Miller
26. War of the Witches – Maite Carranza
27. The New York Four – Brian Wood
28. A Corner of White – Jaclyn Moriarty
29. That Time I Joined the Circus – J. J. Howard
30. Magic at the Gate – Devon Monk
31 – 41. Dengeki Daisy (volumes 1-11) – Kyousuke Motomi
42. Magic on the Hunt – Devon Monk
43. Magic on the Line – Devon Monk
44. Acid – Emma Pass
45. The Black Jewels Trilogy – Anne Bishop

So 45 books in total, including the manga. It was insane. I just soaked it all in. The last book was 1204 pages and I read it in a day and a half. O.O The thing is, now I’ve reached my saturation limit and probably will end up in a reading slump. I hope you read some good books in April.

March Wrap Up and Book Haul

Another month is goneee. And I’m one step closer to writing the thesis. Which doesn’t scare me at all. No sirree bob, it does not (I’m lying. It totally does).

This month was rather lacking in books. I had gotten such huge hauls in January and February that I chose to take it easy both with the review copy requesting and with the buying. Next month will be insane, I can tell you that already. It does no good for me to be restrained or go on a book buying ban. Anyway, the books I did get are:

Crown of Thorns, Crown of Embers, Something Strange and Deadly and The Whispering House are from Bookcloseouts.com. Strobe Edge vol 1 is from Book Depository. Rebel Heart and the Literary Terms book is from this thrift store I discovered. The Runaway King is for review from Scholastic Canada (thanks!) and you can expect a review soonish.

Now on to the wrap-up. I have no idea how many books I read this month. (There’s still one day left but I doubt I’ll get anything read today and tomorrow. I’m being good and concentrating on school reading.)

Books Read this Month

1. Little Red Riding Hood – Brothers Grimm (illustrated by Daniel Egneus)
2. Full Blooded – Amanda Carlson
3. Hot Blooded – Amanda Carlson
4. Dark Eyes – William Richter
5. The Language Inside – Holly Thompson
6. Another volumes 1-4 – Yukito Ayatsuji (totally brilliant, this one)
7. Little Bird – Germano Zullo (lovely)
8. House Held Up by Trees – Ted Kooser
9. Red Knit Cap Girl – Naoko Stoop
10. No and Me – Delphine de Vigan
11. Mila 2.0 – Debra Drizer
12. City of a Thousand Dolls – Miriam Forster
13. If You  Hold a Seed – Elly MacKay
14. Geek Girl – Holly Smale
15. Wish – Beth Bracken
16. The Rules – Stacey Kade
17. Impulse – Steven Gould
18. Love and Other Perishable Items – Laura Buzo
19. This is What Happy Looks Like – Jennifer E. Smith
20. Spies and Prejudice – Talia Vance
21. One plus One Equals Blue – M. J. Auch
22. Written in Red – Anne Bishop
23. Pivot Point – Kasie West
24. The Four Corners of Time – David Shapiro
25. Mistborn – Brandon Sanderson
26. The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls – Claire LeGrand
27. Born of Illusion – Teri Brown
28. Another Little Piece – Kate Karyus Quinn
29. Sita’s Ramayana – Samhita Arni
30. Dead and Buried – Kim Harrington
31. Inside, Out & Back Again – Thanhha Lai
32. The Madness Underneath – Maureen Johnson
33. Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets – Evan Roskos
34. Ice Age Cataclysm – David Shapiro
35. The Chronicles of Harris Burdick – Chris Van Allsburg
36. The Devil’s Metal – Karina Halle
37. The Incredible Book Eating Boy – Oliver Jeffers
38. Escape Theory – Margaux Froley

That’s not too bad. I was rather sick for about a week and a half this month. I spent it reading fiercely. I aim to get quite a few number of books read in the next month or so. Let’s hope I can do it. There’ll be some rereads because I’m taking this foundation children’s lit class and the reading list contains books that I have read but need to reread so I can freshen myself up on the narrative. Plus I have a ton of books out from the library and some books I need to read for review. I hope you guys had a good reading month as well.

February Round-Up

Books Read

1. If You Find Me – Emily Murdoch (Loved it. Review soon)
2. Ever After – Kim Harrison (Satisfying)
3. The Girl with Glass Feet – Ali Shaw (Poignant)
4. The Horologicon – Mark Forsyth (Loved it)
5. The Heart and the Bottle – Oliver Jeffers (Aww)
6. Revel – Maurissa Guibord (Satisfying. Review maybe)
7. The Cats of Tanglewood Forest – Charles de Lint (Liked it a lot)
8. Big Plans – Bob Shea (Meh)
9. Big Bad Bunny – Franny Billingsley (Absolutely awesome)
10. Huff and Puff – Claudia Rueda (Cute)
11. A Gift – Yong Chen (Cute)
12. Little Beauty – Anthony Brownie (Cute)
13. The Great Doughnut Parade – Rebecca Bond (Interesting)
14. Pieces of Georgia – Jennifer Fisher Bryant (Poignant. Liked it a lot)
15. Steampunk III – Ann Vandermeer (It had its awesomeness)
16. The Summer Prince – Alaya Dawn Johnson (Really liked this)
17. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea – April Genevieve Tucholke (Liked with some reservations)
18. Going Vintage – Lindsey Leavitt (Cute and fluffy but ultimately not as good as I wanted it to be)
19. Hysteria – Megan Miranda (Had the potential to be brilliant. Did not live  up to it.)
20. The Secret Lives of Princesses – Philippe Lechermeier (Hysterial)
21. The Holders – Juliana Scott (Liked it.)
22. Quicksilver – R. J. Anderson (Played with my head in a good way.)
23. Zoo – Anthony Browne (Brilliant)
24. Beegu – Alexis Deacon (Brilliant too)
25. The Girl in the Castle inside the Museum – Kate Bernheimer (Illustrations were gorgeous, the story failed to live up to them)
26. The Crown of Embers – Rae Carson (Loved it a lot)
27. Constructing Adolescence in Fantastic Realism – Alison Waller (Very illuminating.)
28. Keesha’s House – Alison Frost (Liked a lot)
29. Nobody – Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Quite disappointed with this one.)

So I read quite a few picture books this month. Some of them were wonderful, others not so much. I read nonfiction, a literary novel, picture books, short story anthology, some realistic fiction, middle grade and YA paranormal. All in all, I’m satisfied with the range of reading I managed to accomplish. I’m probably not going to get as much reading done during March because school’s going to be drawing to a close and I’ll be trying to get papers written, portfolios collected and projects completed. However, I do have a reading list for the month and if you are curious, the books on the to-read list for March are:

1. The Dead and the Buried – Kim Harrington
2. Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets – Evan Roskos
3. Escape Theory – Margaux Froley
4. Farseed – Pamela Sargent
5. Impulse – Steven Gould
6. Ice Age – David Shapiro
7. The Four Corners of Time – David Shapiro
8. Summer and Bird – Katherine Catmull

January ReWind

So, as expected, I didn’t get much reading done this month. Between school (where I have to do a lot of non-recreational reading) and volunteering, my time just disappears. Honestly, even when I do have time, I don’t feel like reading because I’ve been reading all day and my eyes no longer want to comprehend words. I need to get back into the system and rediscover how much fun reading is. This is what I read this month:

1. Century – Bruce Bernard (the last century represented by brutal photographs. Heavy on the war pictures, death, famine, genocide. All of it capture on camera.)
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian – Sherman Alexie (I will definitely be reviewing this at some point. Loved it.)
3. The Nightmare Affair – Mindee Arnett (review nearer to release date)
4. God Went to Beauty School – Cynthia Rylant (First verse novel of the year, didn’t impress me much.)
5. Some of the Kinder Planets – Tim Wynne-Jones (lovely collection of stories)
6. Racing the Dark – Alayna Dawn Johnson (review soon)
7. Wicked City – Alayna Dawn Johnson (meh)
8. The Night Fairy – Laura Amy Schlitz (cute)
9. The Several Lives of Orphan Jack – Sarah Ellis (loved it)
10. The Evolution of Mara Dyer – Michelle Hodkin (Annoyed the hell out of me. Review forthcoming, probably.)
11. Winterling – Sarah Prineas (Liked it)
12. Smile – Raina Telgemeier (Funny)
13. The Wednesdays – Julie Bourbeau (review soonish)
14. Words under the Words – Naomi Shihab Nye (some of the poems were wonderful, others did not appeal to me as much)
15. A Tangle of Knots – Lisa Graff (A fun middle grade book)
16. Amber House – Kelly Moore et al (review forthcoming)
17. Pantomime – Laura Lam (look for review on blog)
18. Splendors and Glooms – Laura Amy Schlitz (loved it, must acquire it)
19. Free Fall – David Wiesner (I love his art!)
20. Sector 7 – David Wiesner (so lovely!)
21. Hurricane – David Wiesner (sigh!)
22. The Mad Man’s Daughter – Megan Shepherd  (liked it)
23. F in Exams – Richard Benson (Hilarious)
24. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle – Haruki Murakami (made me think a lot. I kind of loved this.)
25. The Goddess Chronicle – Natsuo Kirino (Wasn’t as awesome as I had hoped it would be.)

Tentative To-Read in February

1. The Horologican – Mark Forsyth
2. Constructing Adolescence in Fantastic Realism – Alison Waller
3. The Girl with the Glass Feet – Ali Shaw
4. Quicksilver – R. J. Anderson
5. The Holders – Julianna Scott
6. The Dead and the Buried – Kim Harrington
7. The Cats of Tanglewood Forest – Charles de Lint
8. Steampunk III – Anne Vandemeer
9. Nobody – Jennifer Lynn Barnes

December Round Ups

I did not read as many books in December because I was too busy watching dramas. Plus, I have been in a kind of reading slump or would it be more appropriate to say that I want to read more slowly and savour the words than just tearing through a book. I don’t know but that’s my resolution for 2013. Read slowly, appreciate more. Anyway, here is a list of the books I did read:

1. The Almost Truth – Eileen Cook (liked it, reviewed it)
2. Black City – Elizabeth Richards (did not like this one, reviewed it)
3. Days of Blood and Starlight – Laini Taylor (Loved this, reviewed it)
4. The Sea of Tranquility – Katja Millay (loved it, reviewed it)
5. Small Change for Stuart – Lissa Evans (review to come)
6. The Edge of Nowhere – Elizabeth George (review to come)
7. Paper Valentine – Brenna Yovanoff (liked it)
8. The Peculiar – Stefann Bachman (review soon)
9. The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy – Nikki Loftin (review soon)
10. The Darkest Minds – Alexandra Bracken (liked it)
11. Prophecy – Ellen Oh (meh)
12. The Case of the Missing Marquess – Nancy Springer (liked it, review soon)
13. Overseas – Beatriz Williams (almost disgustingly mushy but I liked it)
14. Counting Backwards – Laura Lascarso (liked it, review soon)
15. Undead – Kirsty McKay (liked it)
16. Shadowlands – Kate Brian (review soon)
17. The Archived – Victoria Schwab (loved it, review soon)
18. Found – Sarah Prineas (loved)
19. Lost – Sarah Prineas (loved)
20. Dark Water – Tricia Rayburn (meh)
21. Black Wingers – Christina Henry (entertaining)
22. Never Hit a Jellyfish with a Spade – Guy Browning (amusing)
23. Broken – A. E. Rought (meh)
24. The Gypsy King – Maureen Fergus (so awesome!!)
25. The Secret Wish of Nannerl Mozart – Barbara Kathleen Nickel (for school, liked it)

What I’m Reading Next Month

I usually don’t plan what to read in a month but since I am determined to complete all the reading challenges I set for myself, I thought it would be smarter to just choose which challenge books I’m going to read. So I can either purchase them or get them for the library beforehand.

For the Lit. Fic. challenge, in January I’m going to read: The Girl with Glass Feet – Ali Shaw
Global Reading Challenge – The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle – Haruki Murakami
The Non-Fic challenge: Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide – Nicholas D. Kristof, Sherly WuDunn
Books in Verse Challenge – Because I am Furniture – Thalia Chaltas
Classics: Pinnochio – Carlo Collardi

Apart from these five, I have no idea what I’m going to read next. Possibly some review copies that need to be read or whatever my mind wants to. Happy reading!

November Round-Ups

November was a pretty hectic month for me. I got insanely sick, like confined-to-bed-for-years sick. I don’t mind school and the work that I have to do for it because I love it so much but the commute to the campus and back is definitely wearing (five hours on bad days). However, I managed to read some really good books (and some not so good ones). This is what I read!

1. The Magic Thief – Sarah Prineas (liked it)
2. Unremembered – Jessica Brody (review nearer release date)
3. This Is Not My Hat – Jon Klassen (awesome!)
4. Water Witch – Juliet Dark (meh)
5. American Born Chinese – Gene Luen Yang (loved it!)
6. What’s Left of Me – Kat Zhang (review soon)
7. Pretty Monsters – Kelly Link (loved it!)
8. Wonderstruck – Brian Selznick (it was okay)
9. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Graphic Novel – Frank L. Baum (prefer Wicked by Gregory Maguire)
10. Copper – Kazu Kibuishi (Thanks Krystle for this recommendation!)
11. Stitches – David Small (kinda brilliant yet so sad)
12. The Unnaturalists – Tiffany Trent (meh)
13. City I Love – Lee Bennet Hopkins (it was okay)
14. Goldie and the Three Hares – Margie Palatini (funny!)
15. Little Oink – Amy Krouse Rosenthal
16. Mirror Mirror – Suzy Lee (loved it!)
17. Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, Where Have You Been? – Dan Bar-el (it was okay)
18. Say Hello – Jack Foreman (really cute and quite substantial)
19. Cinderella (As if you didn’t already know the story) – Barbara Ensor (it was okay)
20. Dark Star – Bethany Frenette (I liked it)
21. Now  You’re One of Us – Asa Nonami (this was okay)
22. The Cheshire Cheese Cat – Cameron Agra Deedy (I quite liked this one)
23. The Mad Scientist’s Daughter – Cassandra Rose Clarke (I don’t know how I feel about this one)
24. The Raven Boys – Maggie Stiefvater (I loved this one!)
25. Gravity – Melissa West (I will review this one)
26. Deadly Cool – Gemma Halliday (fun!)
27. Social Suicide – Gemma Halliday (I am a fan)
28. The Demon Lover – Juliet Dark (I liked this tentatively)
29. The Dark Unwinding – Sharon Cameron (Really liked this one)
30. The Emperor’s Soul – Brandon Sanderson (New Sanderson fan now)
31. Ashes of Honor – Seanan McGuire (Didn’t like this one as much as I had hoped to)
32. Tales from Outer Suburbia – Shaun Tan (this one is amazing)
33. Epic – ed. John Joseph Adams (it was okay)
34. Aesop’s Fables – Beverley Naidoo (liked the twist they gave to the tales)
35. Scarlett – Marissa Meyer (I’m still thinking about how I feel for this one)

And those are the books I read! I’m writing two papers in December which will probably effect the number I read but! I hope good books wait for me this month too. What did you read in November?

November Releases that made my TBR List

Books Read in October

 

I read a lot but only because most of my reading was picture books. We covered the past thirty or so years (in minute detail, mind) in picture books so I read them and discovered a love for them. I also managed to read a great manga series. There are the books!

1 – 13. Oresama Teacher vol 1 – 13
14. Enchanted – Alethea Kontis
15. Slated – Terri Terry
16. Through Indigo’s Eyes – Tara Taylor
17. Flotsam – David Wiesner
18. A Giraffe and a Half – Shel Silverstein
19. The Duchess of Whimsy – Randall de Seve
20. Science Verse – Jon Sciezska
21. The Flower Ball – Sigrid Laude
22. Little Daruma and Little Daikoku – Satoshi Kako
23. Art & Max – David Wiesner
24. Trickster – Matt Dembicki
25. In the Meadow – Yukiko Kato
26. Flora’s Fury – Ysabeau S. Wilve
27. Brida – Paulo Coelho
28. Dead End in Norvelt – Jack Gantos
29. Beta – Rachel Cohn
30. Fury – Rebecca Lim
31. Iron Hearted Violet – Kelly Barnhill
32. Ramona and Her Father – Beverley Clearly
33. Carnival of Souls – Melissa Marr
34. The Book Thief – Marcus Zusak
35. Discount Armageddeon – Seanan McGuire
36. Nothing But Ghosts – Beth Kephart
37. The Gift of the Magi – Joel Priddy
38. Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland – Jon Scieszka
39. The House in the Night – Susan Marie Swanson
40. If I Ran the Circus – Dr. Seuss
41. In Search of Happiness – Juliet Saumande
42. The Apple Pie that Papa Baked – Lauren Thompson
43. Stuck – Oliver Jeffers
44. I Had a Favourite Dress – Boni Ashburn
45. A Bird in Winter – Helene Kirillis
46. Venom – Fiona Paul
47. And All the Stars – Andrea K. Host
48. Valkyrie Rising – Ingrid Paulson
49. Lucid – Adrienne Stoltz
50. Mira’s Diary – Marissa Moss
51. Tuesday – David Wiesner
52. The Lost Thing – Shaun Tan
53. June 29, 1999 – David Wiesner
54. The Paper Bag Princess – Robert Munsch
55. I Want My Hat Back – Jon Klassen
56. The Red Tree – Shaun Tan
57. The Rabbits – John Marsden
58. The Three Pigs – David Wiesner
59. The 20th Children’s Book Treasury – Janet Schulman
60. The Casual Vacancy – J. K. Rowling
61. Eternally Yours – Cate Tiernan
62. Shattered Souls – Mary Lindsey

What did you read this month? Any favourites?

October Releases that Made my TBR List