Monthly Reflections: May 2010
1. Sovay by Celia Rees ( my review)
2. Twilight: The Graphic Novel Vol 1 by Stephenie Meyer and Young Kim ( my review)
3. Sea Glass by Maria V. Snyder ( my review)
4. Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley ( my review)
5. Running with the Pack edited by Ekatrina Sedia ( my review)
6. Natural History by Justina Robson ( my review)
7. Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher ( my review)
8. Eyes like Stars by Lisa Mantchev ( my review)
9. Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher ( my review)
10. Skinned by Robin Wasserman ( my review)
Shortest book: 224 pages
Longest book: 702 pages
Average number of pages: 393.6
Total pages: 3936
Rereads: 0
New books: 10
Most popular rating: four stars (four times) and four and a half stars (four times)
Average rating: 4.15
Favorite book: Skinned
Biggest Disappointment: Sovay
Since I don't think I'll completely finish Patricia Briggs's Silver Borne before midnight, the list goes up today. May was filled with a lot of time for reading as I spent most of the month in an attractive window where I did not have classes. As a result, I was able to read ten books, including a couple rather long ones. That window is currently in the process of closing, as summer classes are going to really kick off this week. I'm taking a class on children's literature, an independent study on community relations and a fifteen hour a week internship at a local library. As a result, a lot of my free time is going bye bye, although I won't be sure how much of that free time will be vanishing until tomorrow.
With the exception of Sovay, I'm pretty happy with the books I've read this month, and found myself pleasantly surprised with a couple titles like Eyes Like Stars and Skinned. Here's how I did on my challenges:
New Genre challenge: 5 out of 12 books
Support your local library challenge: 10 out of 50
Young Adult Reading challenge: 18 out of 25
Read the World: 2 out of 18 countries
I made some nice progress on the Young Adult Reading Challenge and made a dent in the support your local library one. I'm not really sure how much my challenges will be impacted by my new classes. Guess we'll see next month!
Another feature you'll see show up on my blog for the next couple months is a list of the books that I've read for my children's literature class. I don't really want to have to write a review for every picture book I read (they'll be at least fifteen) especially when I already have to write a special kind of review for them for class. As a result, I'll just list the books I read for class at the end of each month. Book reviews may occasionally take place if I really have a lot to say about the book. If you're familiar with my blog, you'll know that I'm trying to read 100 books this year, and I count each book at the beginning of each review. In the interest of keeping this class separate, I think I'll count the books I'll read for this class (of which they'll be at least forty) separately from my normal list of books. I'll put these lists under a cut.
Story Picture books
Scoot! by Cathryn Falwell
Elena's Serenade by Campbell Geeslin
The Girl who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble
Old Bear by Kevin Henkes
Wolf's Coming by Joe Kulka
The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson
Polar Bear Night by Lauren Thompson
Concept Books
Kipper's A to Z: An Alphabet Adventure by Mick Inkpen
2. Twilight: The Graphic Novel Vol 1 by Stephenie Meyer and Young Kim ( my review)
3. Sea Glass by Maria V. Snyder ( my review)
4. Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley ( my review)
5. Running with the Pack edited by Ekatrina Sedia ( my review)
6. Natural History by Justina Robson ( my review)
7. Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher ( my review)
8. Eyes like Stars by Lisa Mantchev ( my review)
9. Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher ( my review)
10. Skinned by Robin Wasserman ( my review)
Shortest book: 224 pages
Longest book: 702 pages
Average number of pages: 393.6
Total pages: 3936
Rereads: 0
New books: 10
Most popular rating: four stars (four times) and four and a half stars (four times)
Average rating: 4.15
Favorite book: Skinned
Biggest Disappointment: Sovay
Since I don't think I'll completely finish Patricia Briggs's Silver Borne before midnight, the list goes up today. May was filled with a lot of time for reading as I spent most of the month in an attractive window where I did not have classes. As a result, I was able to read ten books, including a couple rather long ones. That window is currently in the process of closing, as summer classes are going to really kick off this week. I'm taking a class on children's literature, an independent study on community relations and a fifteen hour a week internship at a local library. As a result, a lot of my free time is going bye bye, although I won't be sure how much of that free time will be vanishing until tomorrow.
With the exception of Sovay, I'm pretty happy with the books I've read this month, and found myself pleasantly surprised with a couple titles like Eyes Like Stars and Skinned. Here's how I did on my challenges:
New Genre challenge: 5 out of 12 books
Support your local library challenge: 10 out of 50
Young Adult Reading challenge: 18 out of 25
Read the World: 2 out of 18 countries
I made some nice progress on the Young Adult Reading Challenge and made a dent in the support your local library one. I'm not really sure how much my challenges will be impacted by my new classes. Guess we'll see next month!
Another feature you'll see show up on my blog for the next couple months is a list of the books that I've read for my children's literature class. I don't really want to have to write a review for every picture book I read (they'll be at least fifteen) especially when I already have to write a special kind of review for them for class. As a result, I'll just list the books I read for class at the end of each month. Book reviews may occasionally take place if I really have a lot to say about the book. If you're familiar with my blog, you'll know that I'm trying to read 100 books this year, and I count each book at the beginning of each review. In the interest of keeping this class separate, I think I'll count the books I'll read for this class (of which they'll be at least forty) separately from my normal list of books. I'll put these lists under a cut.
Story Picture books
Scoot! by Cathryn Falwell
Elena's Serenade by Campbell Geeslin
The Girl who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble
Old Bear by Kevin Henkes
Wolf's Coming by Joe Kulka
The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson
Polar Bear Night by Lauren Thompson
Concept Books
Kipper's A to Z: An Alphabet Adventure by Mick Inkpen