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What Are You Reading: August 20, 2012: 08/19/12
I had a fantastic week of reading so it's really difficult to pick a favorite book. I'm going to have go with a fan girl response and say the best (out of an extremely good set of books) was The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente. It is a delightful homage to L. Frank Baum's fourth book, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz which is mostly an underground journey to Oz. The ending, though, took me completely by surprise in a very satisfying way. Although The Night Circus in any other week would have been my favorite, I have to put it third place, after the lovely tween book, Keeper by Kathi Appelt. Keeper is set along the Gulf Coast of Texas on a street that has three houses and a bus. It's a limited cast of characters and all of them are intertwined. The main character believes she is the daughter of a mermaid and she wants to go out the sandbar to find her mother. I've been describing this book to friends and family as the narrative inverse to The Mermaid's Mirror (which I also liked). In third place, then is The Night Circus which made for a wonderful audio book. I was sorry to hear it end. I do plan to get a nice hardcover for my personal collection. And damn if that book isn't crying for some cosplay. My goal this week is to finish Evernight by Claudia Black and start a small pile of library books that are due in less than a week. Among them are: The Salaryman's Wife by Sujata Massey, On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers, Neighborhood Watch by Cammie McGovern, and The Dervish House by Ian McDonald. To accomplish these reading goals, I'll have to give up one episode of Supernatural a night. I've been watching way too much Netflix. What about you? Finished:
Currently Reading:
Reviews Posted:
Comment #1: Sunday, August 19, 2012 at 23:26:21 You've finished such a lot! Enjoy the rest of your reads (all new to me) Comment #2: Sunday, August 19, 2012 at 20:30:40 Pussreboots And I wanted to finish more! Haha. Comment #3: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 03:06:40 Sounds like you had a wonderful reading week! I hope this week is as good Comment #4: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 12:04:30 Pussreboots I hope I do too! Comment #5: Monday, August, 20, 2012 at 05:20:37 Wow, so many great books for you this week! I am so excited to read The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland as I adored the first book! Comment #6: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 12:06:52 Pussreboots It's an excellent book but different from the original. By that I mean it's not a rehash of the old book. She sees an entirely new part of Fairyland. Comment #7: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 06:03:07 Hi! We are intrigued by Catherynne Valente's sequel to her outstanding The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland - will definitely have to look out for that one. I'm also glad to see that you have just recently read and reviewed Tales from Outer Suburbia. Shaun Tan is LOVE. I have done a review of Suburbia and The Arrival as well. His "The Red Tree" is a staple for the beginning of the semester as I often read it aloud to my own teacher-students in my own class. I've also seen Kathi Appelt's Keeper - it's quite thick, though, right? Hopefully I get to read that soon. :) Comment #8: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 12:13:00 Pussreboots Don't let the thickness of Keeper keep you from reading it. It has illustrations and many of the pages are written like free form verse — making for a quick read. Comment #9: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 07:52:50 You have an interesting looking list. I haven't read any of these, so I'm very curious. Thanks for visiting my blog. Comment #10: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 18:34:15 Pussreboots Thanks. Maybe something on my list will pique your interest. Comment #11: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 08:06:44 We have The Benedict Society on our bookshelf but have yet to read it. I enjoyed reading The Maze of Bones series. So many great books you've introduced me to! Enjoy your reading week and thanks for visiting my blog. Comment #12: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 18:39:20 Pussreboots The first Benedict Society book is very good. The second book is even better. The third book didn't work for me. I hope you have better luck with it. I'm waiting for the audio book of the second Maze of Bones books to appear back in Overdrive so I can listen to it. Comment #13: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 08:57:13 I am the only person I know who gave night circus a DNF... sad to admit that but I knew I wouldn't enjoy it, felt compelled to try. Sounds like you had a great week! Comment #14: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 18:42:25 Pussreboots The audio book's narrator was able to do different voices for the characters. That helped me keep them straight in my head. Comment #15: Monday, August, 20, 2012 at 09:04:10 So many that you have listed here sound good!! Since I am in a YA kick right now, I think I have to add the Evernight Series and Keeper to my TBR list. And I still have to read Night Circus. Have a great week!! Comment #16: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 20:00:24 Pussreboots I liked Keeper a lot more than I did Evernight. Comment #17: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 09:37:09 Wow! You're right, your list from last week sounds pretty amazing. I'm going to see if I can get my hands on Keeper. I've read a lot of positive things about it before. Have a good week! Comment #18: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 20:04:33 Pussreboots By all means, you should read Keeper if you can. Comment #19: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 09:50:02 I've seen Keeper at the library and now want to pick it up. Have another great week of reading. Comment #20: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 20:07:35 Pussreboots I'm glad you want to pick up Keeper. It's very good! Comment #21: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 10:58:38 love audios! such a boon to more stories and fill in travel time for me... enjoy your week :) Comment #22: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 20:13:05 Pussreboots The audios make commuting and doing chores more fun. Happy reading. Comment #23: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 11:04:53 Valente's writing is so amazing! I was caught off guard with The Girl Who Circumvented Fairyland in a Ship of her own Making. Wow!! I have Orphan Tales lookin' at me in my TBR. And I WISH I could read as many books as you are weekly. *sigh* How wonderful!! Comment #24: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 20:15:10 Pussreboots I read the first of the Orphan's Tales over the summer. I found some simularities in The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland because of it. Comment #25: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 11:59:12 I still need to read The girl who circumnavigated Fairyland in a ship of her own making, but The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There sounds great too. Comment #26: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 20:23:15 Pussreboots Both are but I recommend reading them in order. Comment #28: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 20:24:34 Pussreboots Thank you! Comment #29: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 18:41:59 Night Circus is wild :) I liked it but whew, it was tough to keep up with all the characters sometimes. Have a great week :) Comment #30: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 20:29:24 Pussreboots The audio book helped with that because the narrator did different voices for everyone. Comment #31: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 19:56:51 It's great when we find ourselves in a streak of reading good books! I'll give "The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There" another try once the second book comes out! Comment #32: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 20:40:35 Pussreboots Good luck! Comment #33: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 20:24:56 You had a great week! I hope this week is a good one too. Comment #34: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 20:41:02 Pussreboots So do I. Thanks! Comment #35: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 21:28:24 It's a great week of reading when you have a hard time deciding which book was your favorite! I hope you have another fantastic week of reading :D Comment #36: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 20:47:12 Pussreboots It was an exceptional week of reading for me. Comment #37: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 21:59:36 I love the Oz books! I've been meaning to reread them all for a while. My dad used to read them to me as bedtime books when I was little. Comment #38: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 20:48:15 Pussreboots I have decided to re-read them. I have the second book on audio on my computer. Comment #39: Tuesday, August 21, 2012 at 10:57:46 Isn't it wonderful to be pleasantly surprised by a book? Does Valente have a third book in the series? Comment #40: Friday, August 24, 2012 at 10:25:05 Pussreboots I don't know. I looked on GoodReads and on the author's website and blog. There's no mention of a third book.
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