got a bit off track
oops, this is a bit late! The computer had to go in for an update (courtesy of J's dad), then the monitor died and it took a couple days to find a new one (free from J's brother), then I got the flu:( Hence, not being online for a while!
This flu was a nasty one:( It hit really quick and was very very painful! The only good thing is that it seems to go pretty quickly- I started feeling sick around 1pm friday, had a nap, spent most of the evening and night in the bathroom and was pretty much better by morning. J got hit with it today though, and i'm not sure it's going as quickly for him:(
Other than that, not much out of the ordinary has been going on. We got hit with a few big-ish snow storms in the past ~10 days, but things are getting cleared up and it's nice and mild and pretty out now:P
Oh, i found a new little cafe that has delicious homemade bread and super nice owners! I almost regret putting jam on my toast this morning, coz the bread was so good and its taste kinda got covered up:P That was my first time there, but i'll be trying it out again i'm sure (it's pretty much on my way to work, and now that things are milder, I can walk to it more;)).
I saw The Lego Movie this week- I was surprised at how much i enjoyed it!:P I mostly went coz my friend really wanted to see it, but I ended up really liking it:) And that song might be really annoying and earworm-y, but it's also silly and puts me in a good mood:P
And i've been reading lots of books, of course:)
43/14 Haunted (Witch Hunt #1) by Lisa Childs
this was ok. a couple of red herrings made it intriguing. I didn't like the characters though, and there was a lot of show-not-tell.
44 Why Grizzly Bears Should Wear Underpants by The Oatmeal (Matthew Inman)
J and i really liked reading this together. It's quite funny and smart:)
45 The Girl Who Fell From The Sky by Heidi W Durrow
I thought this was really neat and a very interesting concept. It tackled some heady issues not often discussed. But i found the jumping around of timelines very hard to follow, and so didn't get nearly what i felt i could from it.
46/15 Wild & Free edited by Wendy Cooling
these stories were ok. pretty bland and overly anthropomophi-sized, but a light quick read.
47 Sandman and the War of Dreams (Rise of the Guardians #4) by William Joyce
i think Sandy is my favorite Guardian, but I was kinda disappointed by this book. For a 200+ page book, not a lot happens. We relearn about Pitches past, and experience some dreams and nightmares with the characters, but it really felt like this could've been a (shorter) part of the next book... And I think there were fewer illustrations than in the previous books. I did still enjoy it, but it's not at the same level as the first 3.
48 Pure Joy: The Dogs We Love by Danielle Steel
this was rambling and repetitive, like it had barely bee looked over by an editor. It sometimes tried to be an advice book, but I really couldn't get behind much of the advice. And the dogs were sweet, but didn't actually feature as strongly as D.S getting to like dogs. Maybe for someone who's a much more reluctant dog person than I am, this would be better.
49 Forever X by Geraldine McCaughrean
once i got over my own expectations, this was a pretty good book, with lots of heart and humour. I am curious to try some of her other works, which i think is a good sign;)
50/16 Crimson City (Crimson City #1) by Liz Maverick
odd world building, and seemed to conveniently forget that Fleur is a very physically strong vampire, whenever she's around Dain. An intriguing enough mystery, although somewhat predictable.
51/17 The Field Guide (The Spiderwick Chronicles #1) by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi
clever and very fun, with good characters:) great illustrations too:)
52 Deadly by Julie Chibbaro
this was so interesting! the mystery and history and characters and themes kept my attention, and made me want to read it as often as possible (i got to work 5 minutes early and went "yup, i have time to read a few more pages":P). i look forward to reading more of Chibbaro's books, if they're this well researched and written:)
53/18 Bake Sale Murder (Lucy Stone Mystery #13) by Leslie Meier
I picked it up when i had the flu, as I didn't want to get sick on a library book (as it happens, i didn't get sick on any book, but just in case!) It served its purpose as a "sick" book, and i have to give it some slack as I jumped in in the middle of a series, but this was just ok. the mystery kept me guessing, but i'm not a huge fan of the dynamics of the main groups' friendship, and it has some glaring continuity errors.
54 Death in the Air (Boy Sherlock Holmes #2) by Shane Peacock
loving this series. So intriguing and twisty, with great characters and plotting
55 Born of Illusion (Born of Illusion #1) by Teri Brown
This was great! I was drawn right into Anna's world, and really felt for her in her relationship with her mom, and exploring her relationships with everyone else in the novel. I found the "who-dunnit" a little obvious, but that's probably from experience with cozy mysteries;P And i found it quite believable that Anna wouldn't figure it out. It was a very exciting book, but never felt like it was sacrificing quality for that excitement. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised with how characters developed, esp. Mrs Gaylord. Not perfect, but very enjoyable:) leaves lots of opening for the next in the series, but I did find it satisfying on its own:)
(note, falling asleep 5 pages from the end really takes the oomph out of it when you read them the next day:P)
This flu was a nasty one:( It hit really quick and was very very painful! The only good thing is that it seems to go pretty quickly- I started feeling sick around 1pm friday, had a nap, spent most of the evening and night in the bathroom and was pretty much better by morning. J got hit with it today though, and i'm not sure it's going as quickly for him:(
Other than that, not much out of the ordinary has been going on. We got hit with a few big-ish snow storms in the past ~10 days, but things are getting cleared up and it's nice and mild and pretty out now:P
Oh, i found a new little cafe that has delicious homemade bread and super nice owners! I almost regret putting jam on my toast this morning, coz the bread was so good and its taste kinda got covered up:P That was my first time there, but i'll be trying it out again i'm sure (it's pretty much on my way to work, and now that things are milder, I can walk to it more;)).
I saw The Lego Movie this week- I was surprised at how much i enjoyed it!:P I mostly went coz my friend really wanted to see it, but I ended up really liking it:) And that song might be really annoying and earworm-y, but it's also silly and puts me in a good mood:P
And i've been reading lots of books, of course:)
43/14 Haunted (Witch Hunt #1) by Lisa Childs
this was ok. a couple of red herrings made it intriguing. I didn't like the characters though, and there was a lot of show-not-tell.
44 Why Grizzly Bears Should Wear Underpants by The Oatmeal (Matthew Inman)
J and i really liked reading this together. It's quite funny and smart:)
45 The Girl Who Fell From The Sky by Heidi W Durrow
I thought this was really neat and a very interesting concept. It tackled some heady issues not often discussed. But i found the jumping around of timelines very hard to follow, and so didn't get nearly what i felt i could from it.
46/15 Wild & Free edited by Wendy Cooling
these stories were ok. pretty bland and overly anthropomophi-sized, but a light quick read.
47 Sandman and the War of Dreams (Rise of the Guardians #4) by William Joyce
i think Sandy is my favorite Guardian, but I was kinda disappointed by this book. For a 200+ page book, not a lot happens. We relearn about Pitches past, and experience some dreams and nightmares with the characters, but it really felt like this could've been a (shorter) part of the next book... And I think there were fewer illustrations than in the previous books. I did still enjoy it, but it's not at the same level as the first 3.
48 Pure Joy: The Dogs We Love by Danielle Steel
this was rambling and repetitive, like it had barely bee looked over by an editor. It sometimes tried to be an advice book, but I really couldn't get behind much of the advice. And the dogs were sweet, but didn't actually feature as strongly as D.S getting to like dogs. Maybe for someone who's a much more reluctant dog person than I am, this would be better.
49 Forever X by Geraldine McCaughrean
once i got over my own expectations, this was a pretty good book, with lots of heart and humour. I am curious to try some of her other works, which i think is a good sign;)
50/16 Crimson City (Crimson City #1) by Liz Maverick
odd world building, and seemed to conveniently forget that Fleur is a very physically strong vampire, whenever she's around Dain. An intriguing enough mystery, although somewhat predictable.
51/17 The Field Guide (The Spiderwick Chronicles #1) by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi
clever and very fun, with good characters:) great illustrations too:)
52 Deadly by Julie Chibbaro
this was so interesting! the mystery and history and characters and themes kept my attention, and made me want to read it as often as possible (i got to work 5 minutes early and went "yup, i have time to read a few more pages":P). i look forward to reading more of Chibbaro's books, if they're this well researched and written:)
53/18 Bake Sale Murder (Lucy Stone Mystery #13) by Leslie Meier
I picked it up when i had the flu, as I didn't want to get sick on a library book (as it happens, i didn't get sick on any book, but just in case!) It served its purpose as a "sick" book, and i have to give it some slack as I jumped in in the middle of a series, but this was just ok. the mystery kept me guessing, but i'm not a huge fan of the dynamics of the main groups' friendship, and it has some glaring continuity errors.
54 Death in the Air (Boy Sherlock Holmes #2) by Shane Peacock
loving this series. So intriguing and twisty, with great characters and plotting
55 Born of Illusion (Born of Illusion #1) by Teri Brown
This was great! I was drawn right into Anna's world, and really felt for her in her relationship with her mom, and exploring her relationships with everyone else in the novel. I found the "who-dunnit" a little obvious, but that's probably from experience with cozy mysteries;P And i found it quite believable that Anna wouldn't figure it out. It was a very exciting book, but never felt like it was sacrificing quality for that excitement. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised with how characters developed, esp. Mrs Gaylord. Not perfect, but very enjoyable:) leaves lots of opening for the next in the series, but I did find it satisfying on its own:)
(note, falling asleep 5 pages from the end really takes the oomph out of it when you read them the next day:P)