Saturday, January 5, 2013

Bookish list

In 2011 I read over 50 books. Mostly because I spent a month here and a month there house-sitting, etc. and had a lot of porches to sit on to soak up the sunshine and plenty of reading leisure.

In 2012 I got a "real" job and read just 34 1/2 of my Goodreads goal of 35 books.

A lot of the cut in books read had to do with the cut in my time to read and a lot of it had to do with the malaise I became enveloped in. Maybe even some of it had to do with the fact that not a lot of the books were really enjoyable. Many of the books I read were ones I owned and I wanted to read at least once before deciding to get rid of them. And, I assure you, after I'd read them I had no problem tossing them in the "get them out of here before someone thinks it's my favorite book" pile.

In any case I'll make a few recommendations and the rest of my books you can politely ignore. Or not politely because some of them deserve a round of raspberries.

Recommended:

Beauty: A Re-telling of the story of Beauty & the Beast - I wanted this book to go on and on, and while it really isn't at all like the Disney movie, I definitely noticed where Disney got some of their ideas (right down to the Beast's blue jacket).

Cinder - An amazing futuristic/spacey Cinderella adaptation. Thankfully this was just part one with part two expected next month - yay!

The Hunger Games - is this considered a bandwagon thing? I really liked this book. Is it still considered a bandwagon if I'd preferred it was a single book and not a series? The second was...okay but the third one was so incredibly depressing.

Honorable mentions:

Submerged - I wrote a review of this (as I'd received it for just that purpose) and while it was flawed, there was a lot I liked about it and I'm looking forward to reading the second book in the series.

Scarlet - this book doesn't have the best reviews but I enjoyed it. Possibly because I've always loved anything Robin Hood (and because I kept picturing Gisbourne as Richard Armitage's version).

Avoid at all costs:

Miss Delacourt Speaks Her Mind

What I imagined: a supressed woman frees herself from social confines and gives everyone a piece of her mind.

In actuality: nothing. I don't remember her speaking her mind and I don't remember a single interesting thing that happened. Biggest disappointment of my reading year? Possibly!

The Map of Time (SPOILERS)

Promised: H.G. Wells, time travel, Jack the Ripper.

In actuality: All of that and then at the end "just kidding!" I wanted to punch this book in the face.

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

I ignored warnings that this book was terrible and I shouldn't have.

Promised: Scarlet Pimpernel type stuff but with women.

In actuality: a yawn-inducing series of meet-cutes between the same two couples ad nauseum.



For the upcoming year? I hesitate to make a list of "to-reads" like I have in the past since I don't seem to have as much time. However, I am thinking of buying a Kindle so I have easier access to some hard-to-get-out-here-in-the-sticks books and so I don't develop back problems lucking giant paperbacks around in my purse everywhere.

So I have two questions for you:

If you have an e-reader what kind of recommendations can you make for me? With differing versions I am having trouble knowing where to start.

And two: what books should I be reading in 2013?



5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good to know which books to "avoid at all costs." Love you dear Molly.

cat said...

I LOVE the Pink Carnation series! Woman! I thought we were friends! Hmmph.

Also, I was just telling my husband about The Map of Time and saying we should read it because it looked interesting. =/

I just recently admitted to myself that I don't hate my ereader and have been using it a lot more. But mine is Canadian (or UK) only, I think. Kobo. I'd get the Kindle (fire?) I think if you're in the US. It will also read PDF or ePub (whatever it's called). I think it might work with Adobe Digital Editions, too which goes on your computer and you can manually add books that the ereader will read but you can't buy on amazon. At least, I do that with books for my kobo. Or I did. I put my PDF modules for my course on my ereader last semester so I could carry them with me and read at work, etc.

Kristen said...

This year I really enjoyed Gerald Morris' Camelot series, starting with A Squires Tale. I'm even calculating how soon I can read them aloud to my kids - are they old enough to enjoy them yet?

mazeyfaery said...

basic Kindle I find best for reading on,reads just like a book no eye strain and would not be without mine, if you want more than just books Kindle Fire Hd is my new best friend, Audible audio books brilliant and books are in colour on this so good for illustrated books it's a great little tablet PC and good for reading when dark unlike the original Kindle.

Megan said...

The cheapest Kindle (basic with special ads).

To read? Hmmm...what are you in the mood for? Obviously something NOT depressing...