June 2012 Reading
June Reading:
17. Insurgent, by Veronica Roth (525 pages)
Wow, this was just amazing. Roth deals with a lot of the issues brought up in Divergent without sweeping anything under the table. Tris is not uneffected by the events she has witnessed and been a part of, and while dealing with the consequences, she must discover who she is. At the risk of everything.
18. Matched, by Ally Condie (369 pages)
Cassia's tale in a dystopic future of utter government control kept me reading. Definitely intend to read the next one. It reminds me in some ways of The Hunger Games, and of Divergent, though it is unique in its own right.
19. Red Unicorn, by Tanith Lee (191 pages)
Better than the first two, in that Tanaquil was more palatable a character. But I think that's in part because this adventure forced her to face her problems more directly than she had been, and really take stock of who she was and who she wanted to be. I definitely like the end to this series.
20. Hex: Ghosts, by Rhiannon Lassiter (280 pages)
In terms of cyberpunk and dystopian tales, I rather enjoyed this series. I read the first two ages ago, so it took a bit to remember what I'd read before. The mix of tech/web and dystopia, and the idea of the progression of human evolution is really interesting in this series. There were some things I would have liked to see drawn out more, or for more detail to be included in places, but overall this was a good read.
21. The Neruda Case, by Roberto Ampuero (141 pages)
I received an uncorrected proof of this book as a winner in a Goodreads First Reads drawing. The occasionally beautiful narration, the fact that I love the setting, and my love of Neruda's poetry kept me reading as long as I did. Regarding the setting, I am fascinated by Chile during the time of Salvador Allende, and I studied abroad in Cuba. I really wanted to read it, but I was unable to finish this book. It may have been a lost in translation issue or a personal style quibble on my part, or even just a first book in a series syndrome sufferer, but I wasn't drawn into the story. Often it was difficult to determine which character was speaking/doing something, and I wasn't interested in the characters. Additionally, the present-day scene at the beginning felt forced and the time shift to the past was jarring. Also, it's hard to write a historical figure as a character in a novel, and often awkward. I found myself uncertain about many of those scenes. As a reader, I was not able to suspend my disbelief with Neruda as a character. The history is amazing, and the writing is lovely in places. But I can't get into the story, and I don't know that I'll ever finish it.
22. Crossed, by Ally Condie (367 pages)
This is the sequel to Matched, and it definitely didn't disappoint. There were various threads started in this book that I hope to see continued in the next. Definitely an awesome utopia/dystopia series, with hints that it is also post-apocalyptic. My favorite genres with a great story to boot; how could I resist? Also, the basis for bits about the Society remind me of "Crito" in a lot of ways.
23. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury (268 pages)
It took me a long time to get around to reading this book. It's been on my reading list for years, and with Ray Bradbury's death I pushed it to the top, and I'm glad I did. In his forward, Bradbury mentions Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio, and I could see tinges of that in this book, place-based as it were, and a collection of stories. But I also saw tinges of other things. Huxley told Bradbury he was a poet, and he was right; I can see Whitman in this book, and Twain, and so many other literary geniuses. I'm sorry I took so long to read this, but in some ways, I'm glad I waited until I had enough of a literary background to appreciate it more fully.
June book pages: 2,141
Total book pages: 6,181 pages
Progress: 23/50
Comics/manga:
97. Black Butler: Volume 9, by Yana Toboso (176 pages)
98. The Gentlemen's Alliance+: Volume 11, by Arina Tanemura (192 pages)
99. Chibi Vampire: Volume 13, by Yuna Kagesaki (192 pages)
100. Dance in the Vampire Bund: Volume 5, by Nozomu Tamaki (208 pages)
101. Boys Over Flowers: Volume 8, by Yoko Kamio (200 pages)
102. Fruits Basket: Volume 12, by Natsuki Takaya (216 pages)
103. Bride of the Water God: Volume 5, by Mi-Kyung Yun (192 pages)
104. Black Bird: Volume 6, by Kanoko Sakurakoji (192 pages)
105. A Certain Scientific Railgun: Volume 2, by Kazuma Kamachi (192 pages)
106. D.Gray-Man: Volume 10, by Katsura Hoshino (197 pages)
107. Black Cat: Volume 13, by Kentaro Yabuki (192 pages)
108. Bleach: Volume 10, by Tite Kubo (208 pages)
109. Solanin, by Inio Asano (432 pages)
110. Boys Over Flowers: Volume 9, by Yoko Kamio (200 pages)
111. A Bride's Story: Volume 3, by Kaoru Mori (208 pages)
112. The Story of Saiunkoku: Volume 1, by Kari Yura and Sai Yukino (176 pages)
113. Kimi Ni Todoke: Volume 5, by Karuho Shiina (192 pages)
114. Betrayal Knows My Name: Volume 2, by Hotaru Odagiri (352 pages)
115. Highschool of the Dead: Volume 6, by Daisuke and Shouji Sato (160 pages)
116. The Surrogates: Volume 1, by Robert Venditti (208 pages)
117. Yotsuba&!: Volume 7, by Kiyohiko Azuma (208 pages)
118. Amazing Agent Luna: Volume 1, by Nunzio DeFilippis (192 pages)
119. Chibi Vampire: Volume 14, by Yuna Kagesaki (208 pages)
120. Fruits Basket: Volume 13, by Natsuki Takaya (192 pages)
121. Bride of the Water God: Volume 6, by Mi-Kyung Yun (184 pages)
122. Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms, by Fumiyo Kouno (104 pages)
123. D.Gray-Man: Volume 11, by Katsura Hoshino (210 pages)
124. Kyo Kara MAOH!: Volume 6, by Temari Matsumoto (192 pages)
125. All My Darling Daughters, by Fumi Yoshinaga (208 pages)
126. Bride of the Water God: Volume 7, by Mi-Kyung Yun (192 pages)
127. Blood Alone: Omnibus 1, by Masayuki Takano (600 pages)
128. Fate/Stay Night: Volume 2, by Type Moon (212 pages)
129. Mushishi: Volume 1, by Yuki Urushibara (240 pages)
130. Kimi Ni Todoke: Volume 6, by Karuho Shiina (184 pages)
131. Kekkaishi: Volume 5, by Yellow Tanabe (208 pages)
132. Fairy Tail: Volume 6, by Hiro Mashima (208 pages)
133. A Certain Scientific Railgun: Volume 3, by Kazuma Kamachi (192 pages)
134. Bleach: Volume 11, by Tite Kubo (208 pages)
135. Black Cat: Volume 14, by Kentaro Yabuki (192 pages)
136. Spice and Wolf: Volume 2, by Keito Koume (192 pages)
June comic/manga pages: 8,611
Total comic/manga pages: 27,430
Progress: 136/75
17. Insurgent, by Veronica Roth (525 pages)
Wow, this was just amazing. Roth deals with a lot of the issues brought up in Divergent without sweeping anything under the table. Tris is not uneffected by the events she has witnessed and been a part of, and while dealing with the consequences, she must discover who she is. At the risk of everything.
18. Matched, by Ally Condie (369 pages)
Cassia's tale in a dystopic future of utter government control kept me reading. Definitely intend to read the next one. It reminds me in some ways of The Hunger Games, and of Divergent, though it is unique in its own right.
19. Red Unicorn, by Tanith Lee (191 pages)
Better than the first two, in that Tanaquil was more palatable a character. But I think that's in part because this adventure forced her to face her problems more directly than she had been, and really take stock of who she was and who she wanted to be. I definitely like the end to this series.
20. Hex: Ghosts, by Rhiannon Lassiter (280 pages)
In terms of cyberpunk and dystopian tales, I rather enjoyed this series. I read the first two ages ago, so it took a bit to remember what I'd read before. The mix of tech/web and dystopia, and the idea of the progression of human evolution is really interesting in this series. There were some things I would have liked to see drawn out more, or for more detail to be included in places, but overall this was a good read.
21. The Neruda Case, by Roberto Ampuero (141 pages)
I received an uncorrected proof of this book as a winner in a Goodreads First Reads drawing. The occasionally beautiful narration, the fact that I love the setting, and my love of Neruda's poetry kept me reading as long as I did. Regarding the setting, I am fascinated by Chile during the time of Salvador Allende, and I studied abroad in Cuba. I really wanted to read it, but I was unable to finish this book. It may have been a lost in translation issue or a personal style quibble on my part, or even just a first book in a series syndrome sufferer, but I wasn't drawn into the story. Often it was difficult to determine which character was speaking/doing something, and I wasn't interested in the characters. Additionally, the present-day scene at the beginning felt forced and the time shift to the past was jarring. Also, it's hard to write a historical figure as a character in a novel, and often awkward. I found myself uncertain about many of those scenes. As a reader, I was not able to suspend my disbelief with Neruda as a character. The history is amazing, and the writing is lovely in places. But I can't get into the story, and I don't know that I'll ever finish it.
22. Crossed, by Ally Condie (367 pages)
This is the sequel to Matched, and it definitely didn't disappoint. There were various threads started in this book that I hope to see continued in the next. Definitely an awesome utopia/dystopia series, with hints that it is also post-apocalyptic. My favorite genres with a great story to boot; how could I resist? Also, the basis for bits about the Society remind me of "Crito" in a lot of ways.
23. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury (268 pages)
It took me a long time to get around to reading this book. It's been on my reading list for years, and with Ray Bradbury's death I pushed it to the top, and I'm glad I did. In his forward, Bradbury mentions Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio, and I could see tinges of that in this book, place-based as it were, and a collection of stories. But I also saw tinges of other things. Huxley told Bradbury he was a poet, and he was right; I can see Whitman in this book, and Twain, and so many other literary geniuses. I'm sorry I took so long to read this, but in some ways, I'm glad I waited until I had enough of a literary background to appreciate it more fully.
June book pages: 2,141
Total book pages: 6,181 pages
Progress: 23/50
Comics/manga:
97. Black Butler: Volume 9, by Yana Toboso (176 pages)
98. The Gentlemen's Alliance+: Volume 11, by Arina Tanemura (192 pages)
99. Chibi Vampire: Volume 13, by Yuna Kagesaki (192 pages)
100. Dance in the Vampire Bund: Volume 5, by Nozomu Tamaki (208 pages)
101. Boys Over Flowers: Volume 8, by Yoko Kamio (200 pages)
102. Fruits Basket: Volume 12, by Natsuki Takaya (216 pages)
103. Bride of the Water God: Volume 5, by Mi-Kyung Yun (192 pages)
104. Black Bird: Volume 6, by Kanoko Sakurakoji (192 pages)
105. A Certain Scientific Railgun: Volume 2, by Kazuma Kamachi (192 pages)
106. D.Gray-Man: Volume 10, by Katsura Hoshino (197 pages)
107. Black Cat: Volume 13, by Kentaro Yabuki (192 pages)
108. Bleach: Volume 10, by Tite Kubo (208 pages)
109. Solanin, by Inio Asano (432 pages)
110. Boys Over Flowers: Volume 9, by Yoko Kamio (200 pages)
111. A Bride's Story: Volume 3, by Kaoru Mori (208 pages)
112. The Story of Saiunkoku: Volume 1, by Kari Yura and Sai Yukino (176 pages)
113. Kimi Ni Todoke: Volume 5, by Karuho Shiina (192 pages)
114. Betrayal Knows My Name: Volume 2, by Hotaru Odagiri (352 pages)
115. Highschool of the Dead: Volume 6, by Daisuke and Shouji Sato (160 pages)
116. The Surrogates: Volume 1, by Robert Venditti (208 pages)
117. Yotsuba&!: Volume 7, by Kiyohiko Azuma (208 pages)
118. Amazing Agent Luna: Volume 1, by Nunzio DeFilippis (192 pages)
119. Chibi Vampire: Volume 14, by Yuna Kagesaki (208 pages)
120. Fruits Basket: Volume 13, by Natsuki Takaya (192 pages)
121. Bride of the Water God: Volume 6, by Mi-Kyung Yun (184 pages)
122. Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms, by Fumiyo Kouno (104 pages)
123. D.Gray-Man: Volume 11, by Katsura Hoshino (210 pages)
124. Kyo Kara MAOH!: Volume 6, by Temari Matsumoto (192 pages)
125. All My Darling Daughters, by Fumi Yoshinaga (208 pages)
126. Bride of the Water God: Volume 7, by Mi-Kyung Yun (192 pages)
127. Blood Alone: Omnibus 1, by Masayuki Takano (600 pages)
128. Fate/Stay Night: Volume 2, by Type Moon (212 pages)
129. Mushishi: Volume 1, by Yuki Urushibara (240 pages)
130. Kimi Ni Todoke: Volume 6, by Karuho Shiina (184 pages)
131. Kekkaishi: Volume 5, by Yellow Tanabe (208 pages)
132. Fairy Tail: Volume 6, by Hiro Mashima (208 pages)
133. A Certain Scientific Railgun: Volume 3, by Kazuma Kamachi (192 pages)
134. Bleach: Volume 11, by Tite Kubo (208 pages)
135. Black Cat: Volume 14, by Kentaro Yabuki (192 pages)
136. Spice and Wolf: Volume 2, by Keito Koume (192 pages)
June comic/manga pages: 8,611
Total comic/manga pages: 27,430
Progress: 136/75