02 June 2012

Last Month in Review: May 2012

 May seems to have been an average month of reading for me: some adult novels, one YA, and an audio.  I didn't complete any nonfiction this month, but I'm still plugging along, a few pages at a time, with two nonfiction books and I'm in no rush to finish them, so that's fine.  In chronological order, here is what I read in May:

1. Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Green/Matthew Dicks (for some strange reason, the author writes under one name in the US and a different one in the UK). I listened to this audio on my daily commute and it was awful.  Not the reader, but the story.  Review is here

2. The Vanishing Act by Mette Jakobsen.  Not yet published and not yet reviewed (at least by me), this book is something special. Hopefully I'll have the time to review it one of these days. I read the manuscript at the request of one of my sales reps.

3. Black Heart by Holly Black. This book concludes her Curse Workers trilogy, and it worked well both as a standalone and as a conclusion to the series.  Though I have to say that I *hate* the new cover designs for this series.

4. Y: A Novel by Marjorie Celona.  Also not yet published, and also a manuscript that I read at somebody's request.

5. The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde.  Hands down, the most fun I've had reading a book all year.  Review here.

6. Evel Knievel Days by Pauls Toutonghi. I read this book for work and enjoyed it very much. Review here.

7. The Jewel of the Nile by Anna.  This is a novel-length work of Harry Potter fanfiction that I've read many times before.  The writing is excellent, including the sexy times.  In fact, most of the time I think Anna is a far better writer than Hermione's creator. Curious?  Read it here.

8. Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson.  Utterly interesting debut novel featuring religion, politics, and hackers set in an unnamed Middle East country. Review here.

9. The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian.  The downer subject (Armenian genocide) couldn't keep me from tearing through this one.  I think it's Chris's best book.  Review here.

Started but didn't finish: Jonathan Franzen's Freedom on audio and several books that I'm saving for my vacation later this month. Have to test drive 'em, you know, so to avoid getting stuck with duds.  These books have to earn their way into my suitcase!

6 comments:

  1. Oh I've seen a lot of people reading Alif the Unseen, will check out your review.

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  2. I like the idea of books earning their way into your suitcase. I would never think to do that. I would probably wind up with some current bestsellers and call it a day.

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  3. Ellie, you'll have to let me know what you think of Alif if you do read it.

    Belle, if I had kids with me on vacation to distract me, I might borrow your method! But my vacations are pretty much unadulterated reading time so I have to plan very carefully. :)

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  4. Aren't you happy and grateful that you learned to read when you were three years old?

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  5. Alif the Unseen looks really interesting to me! I love the cover too.

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  6. I make my books audition for a spot in my suitcase too, although my process is very much based on the books' covers. :) I haven't read any of these books, but sounds like an interesting mix.

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Please, sir, may I have some more? (Comments, that is!)