"What is the best book you've read so far for The Classics Club — and why? Be sure to link to the post where you discussed the book! (Or, if you prefer, what is your least favorite read so far for the club, and why?)"
Having just started on this official classics quest in September, I've only read three books for the challenge so far. The best of the three without a doubt is A Tale of Two Cities. (My review here.) And why is it the best?
an unlikely hero
a tumultuous historical backdrop
witty and at times sarcastic writing
it's a Charles Dickens that's not huge but manageable!
love and sacrifice at its very best
plot twists and other sneaky stuff
an ending that will stick with you forever
What's a favorite classic you've read recently... and what makes it so good?
Book: Case File 13: Zombie Kid by J. Scott Savage Genre: MG Paranormal Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ For: Review From: ARC from the author
How could I pass up this opportunity to read the latest book from one of my favorite local authors? I could not!
What a fun story about three friends who love Halloween and want to make the BEST costumes every year. (And hope to outdo the girls while at it!) This year the ringleader, Nick, has come up with the coolest zombie costume ever! But sadly, he has to go to a funeral on Halloween and he ends up missing it all! Bummer dude.
However, some strange cool stuff happens while on his trip to the funeral. He discovers that his aunt just might be (make that might have BEEN) a voodoo queen. Then that night, while creeping around a graveyard, something happens. When he gets home, he appears to be turned into a real live (dead?) zombie!
Which is so cool! Until it's not. That's when he and his friends put their heads together to try and figure out how to fix things, a not so easy task.
This story has a bit of everything that will please the younger crowd, especially boys I think. There's lots of funny moments, mixed with lots of creepy spooky moments. And there's even a nice bit of the gross out factor! Very fun!
Oh, and then there was a shout out to "old man Dashner!" That was awesome!
Bottom line: I totally enjoyed this quick and quirky book!
Other Reviews:
As a fan of creepy things, I loved this humorous trio of boys and their adventures.From Alamosa Books
I thought the story really flowed, and I enjoyed it from beginning to end. The ending is especially clever and fun. From Kami's Library Thoughts
I also enjoyed the believable family relationships. Parents who don't solve the problem but are present, caring, and even funny. From Stories. Read 'em. Write 'em.
So I've wanted to read Wolf Hall forever it seems. And now there's been big buzz about the sequel Bring Up The Bodies, which just sounds so much fun! Then, when I saw that my book blogging IRL buddy, Jessica, wanted to read it this year, I thought, cool! How about a read along!?
So, we are going to read it together, following the schedule below and we'd love for anyone who is interested and has also been meaning to read this forever, to please join us! I know it's awfully short notice, but, you know spontaneity is sometimes the best way to go, right?
We'd love to have you post at the mid point on January 27 and a final thoughts wrap up post on Feb. 17. And then post whenever you want in between. And let's chat on Twitter too. (#wolfhall)
The Schedule:
1/13 - The starting line
1/20 - Complete Parts I & II (146 pages)
1/27 - Complete Part III (116 pages) & Check in hosted by The Bluestocking Society
2/3 - Complete Part IV (124 pages)
2/10 - Complete Part V (104 pages)
2/17 - Finish Part VI and the book (114 pages) & Check in hosted by It's All About Books
Book: What We Saw at Night by Jacquelyn Mitchard Genre: YA Rating:★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ For: Review From: NetGalley ARC (released today January 8, 2013)
I was browsing through NetGalley's stuff awhile back and when I saw this book which caught my eye because it said it was about parkour. I figured I had to read it since this parkour craze has hit our house big time!
But first a bit about the book. There's three teenagers, and they have that disease where they can't be exposed to sunlight at all, so they spend a lot of time together hanging out at night. One night, one of the girls shows them an amazing thing when she ran and jumped from one rooftop to another. She started teaching them the parkour moves and pretty soon, they were all hooked.
Then, shortly after on another night, while they were out practicing, they saw a very suspicious thing going on in a neighboring apartment. That made them wonder what was going on, but it got worse when several nights later, our heroine, Allie, sees even more strange things, but this time, she's the only one who does. Now her friends think she might be losing her mind.
Well, anyway, the relationship between these three friends is a bit complicated. They really rely on on each other a lot and when any of them have an issue then it sort of messes up the dynamic. We are brought into their story when they are all having issues! And then to add to this is the strange thing that appears to be going on which one of them may or may not be tied up in, the plot gets thicker and thicker! :)
This was a fun book with the bit of mystery that needed solving and many suspenseful moments that had me quite glued to the page. There were some choices made that I frowned on and I felt these kids had a much too loose of a reign, but that's the protective mom coming out in me I guess!
Then there was the ending! I felt it was very abrupt with not much closure at all and I guess that's once again to led us into the next book. I know, it's getting old. But you know, I'm okay with cliff hangers, they are actually quite fun, but to not really finish off the current book's story? Bugs me.
But back to parkour! So my son has been doing this for several months now. I had no idea it was a "thing" but I guess it's a "real" sport (an ultimate one they say) and has been around for several years. When someone asks him what it is, he says "it's when you get to from point A to B the most efficient way possible." When I explain to someone I say, it's like doing gymnastics through an obstacle course with some pretty dangerous stunt feats thrown in. But the end result is very cool looking and the workout these guys get is pretty incredible.
Anyway, so that's the sort of things these kids are doing at night, when they see something!
Bottom line: It was fun... though I would have liked a more definite ending to our mystery!
Other Reviews:
Jacquelyn Mitchard does a great job of joys and despairs of living the life they have to lead, and partners it with the excitement of nights of Parkour.From Bart's Bookshelf
I could not turn the page fast enough, filled with the sick feeling that Allie was trapped, in too deep to ever get out, through no real fault of her own.From Anna Reads
Much like the darkness in which the three friends live, What We Saw at Night is filled with secrets and unanswered questions.From That's What She Read
Many of you have already posted your goals for the year, and they've been very inspiring for me! Today for the B and B Top Ten Tuesday I going to attempt to list a few goals of my own, though I fear they are pretty much the same every year.
Top Ten Reading Goals for 2013
1. Read 80 books this year! (I'm lowering down a bit from 100 which seems too hard suddenly.)
2. Read 10 classics as part of participating in The Classics Club
3. Keep trying to get some non fiction in there too! Five? Can I try for that maybe?
4. Don't forget to be spontaneous... always.
5. Support local authors... even with money, and don't stress about the ARC thing.
6. Read two or three Wheel of Time books (finish 8, then 9 and 10)
7. Don't go crazy on NetGalley because there's lots of books here on the shelf that need reading too.
8. Have fun with read alongs and a challenge here and there... because it's okay to at least try.
9. Give the adult fiction some more attention. There's some good "big kid" books out there too!
10. Finish a series or two that needs finishing.
Book: The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth LaBan Genre: YA Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ For: Review From: ARC from NetGalley (release date Jan. 8, 2013)
This was one of those take a chance books. I knew nothing about it or its author, but it became available, so I said... "why not" and downloaded.
And once I started reading, I couldn't stop! It was a perfect book to get sucked into while on our crazy little trip this past week. I read all the way home. Loved it!
It's about two boys who attend a boarding school in New York. When one boy, Duncan, arrives for his senior year, he finds out he's inherited the room of the other boy, Tim, who lived there the year before. The tradition is for the previous occupants of the rooms to leave a "treasure" of some kind for the new students. Duncan's treasure from Tim is a set of recordings wherein he recounts the events of the previous year.
And of course we know, from the very beginning, that it involves some sort of tragedy. I must love books where that happens, where the anxiety to find out what's going to happen just gets bigger and bigger as the book goes on.
All of this is tied to the fact that the well loved English teacher at this school requires his students to write a tragedy paper where they have to discuss all the points of what makes up a tragedy. It's all about thinking deep and pondering life, really. But who knew they'd have to be part of a real live one!
The story is from both boys points of view. We are following Duncan's experiences as he begins his senior, and then we are listening, along with Duncan, to Tim's CDs. I was especially sucked into Tim's story. I loved his voice and his unique problems (he's shy and quiet, and an albino) and his humble heart. Duncan was great too, but it was Tim I really fell for.
When I got home from the trip there was my EW magazine waiting for me. I was so excited to see that The Tragedy Paper was featured in it, but it made me wonder if the reviewer had even READ the book! He got an extremely key point TOTALLY wrong! Ugh, it made me crazy. Here's the link to this brief little mention, but guess what... the major big bad goof has been fixed for this online version! Wow, it really makes me wonder what was said to this dude. And it makes me wonder how often the little blurbs we read about books are totally off... and like I said, if the reviewer has even read the book. Strange little side story there I just had to share. (If you read the book and remember to ask me I'll share what this goof was. But otherwise I can't... too spoilery!)
Anyway, bottom line: I totally enjoyed this book! (Which took me quite by surprise!)
Other Reviews:
There’s mystery, comedy, romance, and action that will leave you curious and hooked.From LittleBookStar
I want to talk about the atmosphere, as it makes the book. It is stunning- a combination of raw emotion, the feel of swirling snow, and a controlled chaos.From The Page Sage
If you read and enjoyed books like Thirteen Reasons Why, Looking for Alaska, and The Year of the Gadfly, this is definitely a book you should add to your shelf. From Writer Quirk
With its evocative, literary writing and true teen voice, The Tragedy Paper is an impressive debut. From Sarah Laurence
Hey local bloggers and book loving friends! I just thought I'd give a shout out to a couple of events happening in the area this week that you may want to know about and hopefully come to. First, tomorrow is the release of the last Wheel of Time book, A Memory of Light! Wahoo! What a ride that's been for a few people! So there's a midnight release party happening at the BYU bookstore (and people are camping out and everything!) However, the part I'm planning on going to is the Q and A session with Brandon Sanderson and Harriet, Robert Jordan's wife. That's going to be at Provo High School at 8:00 p.m. tomorrow night. Even though I haven't finished the series, and have no plans to buy this last book quite yet, I think it will be a blast to hear these two talk and answer questions about the journey of this series. Very cool.
And then, on Thursday evening January 10, at 7:00 p.m. at the Orem Library, there will be YA/MG panel happening to kick off the second annual Orem Writes series! Sweet! The authors participating this time are: Ally Condie (Matched series) Robison Wells (Variant and Feedback) Jennifer A. Nielsen (The False Prince and the upcoming The Runaway King) E.J. Patten (Return to Exile) Of course I'll be to this one too! And so, let the bookish/author events of 2013 begin! I'm so excited!
