2008 Reading Round-up
It's 2009! That means it's time for my annual reading year-in-review. My goal is to read 104 books a year; I read, um, exactly 104. Unless I forgot to write some down. I start many more books than I finish, so the 103 books are just the ones I finished.
Every year I select the top ten MG/YA I read in the year. It seems to get harder every year! Only 36 of the books I read this year were MG/YA, yet there was such quality to choose from. These are in LOOSE order.
1. Graceling by Kristin Cashore--Slow beginning, but when it sucks you in, it sucks hard. (Er, well, you know what I'm trying to say.) Po has to be one of the best love interests in any YA novel ever. I want to kidnap him and write about himself myself, which is about the best compliment I can give a character. This book is #1 basically because I can't stop thinking about Po. Sigh.
2. Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George--This was a charming, cozy fantasy with well-drawn characters. I talked about it as a "me" book earlier in the year.
3. The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner--The first book in this series, The Thief, was one I put down as bo-ring a while back. However, I kept hearing people talk about these books, and when I found out, um, a character loses a hand, I was intrigued enough to return to book 2. Yes, I love angst a lot. Book 2 was a lot more my speed, although the politics in these books are so complicated I think I might need to buy a copy and read it again. Must get to book 3 this year.
4. Carpe Diem by Autumn Cornwell--I love travel stories. I usually don't love over-the-top main characters, and yet perfectionist Vassar was just hilarious. Somehow she never crossed the line into "oh, come ON, that's just dumb". This book also had a unconventional love interest--an Asian guy (how refreshing!) who is quirky and adorable.
5. The Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale--Loved the setting (based on Mongolian steppes), loved the premise (two girls trapped in a tower--am I weird for thinking that sounds fascinating?), loved where it goes. The love interest was a little thinly drawn, that's the one thing that could have brought this up the list.
6. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins--Page-turner of the year. Can't wait for the sequel! I don't think I need to say much more about this one.
7. Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the Nation, vol. 1 by M. T. Anderson--Dude, M. T. Anderson, why are you such a genius! I was skeptical about this ambitious book, but it was highly readable despite the highly authentic 18th century language and it was really something I haven't seen in historical fiction previously.
8. Miss Spitfire by Sarah Miller--I'm rather fascinated by Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan. Sarah Miller is obviously like, a hundred times more fascinated than I am, and that makes this such a pleasure to read. She really put me THERE, in those moments, in Annie's head.
9. Tyrell by Coe Booth
10. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie
--Both of these are on the list for having a very memorable voice and sympathetic MCs in tough situations.
Other books worthy of note:
Favorite Graphic Novel/Manga:
With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child by Keiko Tobe (Does this not sound like some non-fiction tome about, um, raising an autistic child? It's actually a manga story on the subject; quite an interesting and off-beat look at Japanese culture.)
Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall by Bill Willingham and various artists
Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale, illustrated by Nathan Hale
The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck by Don Rosa
Non-Fiction I Enjoyed:
American Women: 400 Years by Gail Collins
Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution by Caroline Weber
Real Food by Nina Planck
Cockeyed by Ryan Knighton
Slackjaw by Jim Knipfel
Wildly Romantic: The English Romantic Poets: The Mad, the Bad, and the Dangerous by Catherine M. Andronik
Helen Keller: A Life by Dorothy Herrmann
Every year I select the top ten MG/YA I read in the year. It seems to get harder every year! Only 36 of the books I read this year were MG/YA, yet there was such quality to choose from. These are in LOOSE order.
1. Graceling by Kristin Cashore--Slow beginning, but when it sucks you in, it sucks hard. (Er, well, you know what I'm trying to say.) Po has to be one of the best love interests in any YA novel ever. I want to kidnap him and write about himself myself, which is about the best compliment I can give a character. This book is #1 basically because I can't stop thinking about Po. Sigh.
2. Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George--This was a charming, cozy fantasy with well-drawn characters. I talked about it as a "me" book earlier in the year.
3. The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner--The first book in this series, The Thief, was one I put down as bo-ring a while back. However, I kept hearing people talk about these books, and when I found out, um, a character loses a hand, I was intrigued enough to return to book 2. Yes, I love angst a lot. Book 2 was a lot more my speed, although the politics in these books are so complicated I think I might need to buy a copy and read it again. Must get to book 3 this year.
4. Carpe Diem by Autumn Cornwell--I love travel stories. I usually don't love over-the-top main characters, and yet perfectionist Vassar was just hilarious. Somehow she never crossed the line into "oh, come ON, that's just dumb". This book also had a unconventional love interest--an Asian guy (how refreshing!) who is quirky and adorable.
5. The Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale--Loved the setting (based on Mongolian steppes), loved the premise (two girls trapped in a tower--am I weird for thinking that sounds fascinating?), loved where it goes. The love interest was a little thinly drawn, that's the one thing that could have brought this up the list.
6. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins--Page-turner of the year. Can't wait for the sequel! I don't think I need to say much more about this one.
7. Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the Nation, vol. 1 by M. T. Anderson--Dude, M. T. Anderson, why are you such a genius! I was skeptical about this ambitious book, but it was highly readable despite the highly authentic 18th century language and it was really something I haven't seen in historical fiction previously.
8. Miss Spitfire by Sarah Miller--I'm rather fascinated by Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan. Sarah Miller is obviously like, a hundred times more fascinated than I am, and that makes this such a pleasure to read. She really put me THERE, in those moments, in Annie's head.
9. Tyrell by Coe Booth
10. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie
--Both of these are on the list for having a very memorable voice and sympathetic MCs in tough situations.
Other books worthy of note:
Favorite Graphic Novel/Manga:
With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child by Keiko Tobe (Does this not sound like some non-fiction tome about, um, raising an autistic child? It's actually a manga story on the subject; quite an interesting and off-beat look at Japanese culture.)
Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall by Bill Willingham and various artists
Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale, illustrated by Nathan Hale
The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck by Don Rosa
Non-Fiction I Enjoyed:
American Women: 400 Years by Gail Collins
Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution by Caroline Weber
Real Food by Nina Planck
Cockeyed by Ryan Knighton
Slackjaw by Jim Knipfel
Wildly Romantic: The English Romantic Poets: The Mad, the Bad, and the Dangerous by Catherine M. Andronik
Helen Keller: A Life by Dorothy Herrmann