Fifth Wheel

I finished reading my fifth book yesterday just as my plane was landing on my way home from Kansas. Since I started it a day before my departure, I wasn't able to read it as quickly as I would have liked. This is also the first book I am reading towards my dystopian challenge. When I began reading all I could think about was the movie The Village. In fact, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to finish it because the similarities were really bothering me. A little bit into the book it really did come into it's own. The ideas became original and I started to see that it probably would not end as the movie had.
The Forest of Hands and Teeth was the kind of book where my attention was held by the story lines and not the characters. None of the characters were extraordinary, especially Mary, I kept forgetting her name. At times I felt she was selfish and in ways that weren't worth it. She had two men, great men, that would do anything for her and she couldn't even bring herself to notice that. I'm not saying it is bad to keep reaching for more but sometimes you need to see the things you already have and be grateful for them. I find it funny that Travis had told her he was sorry for being selfish by loving her so much since I saw her as the selfish one.Though at the end she found exactly what she had been longing for, I can't help but worry about how unhappy she will be in the next book seeing as she lost everyone who mattered a long the way. The loss of Travis is very unsettling since he was my favorite character and the one I hoped to hear more about.

I Am Number Four... no wait, that was the last book.

I just completed book number 4 of my 2011 reading challenge. This one was considered one of my free choices as it doesn't fall into any of the categories of my challenge. Lord of Misrule by Rachel Caine is the 5th book in the Morganville Vampires series. This series has not lost it's appeal to me yet and I don't think it will. The author has kept up her standard of writing and continues to shock and excite me. I'm still in love with Shane's character, still invested in all of the characters lives as well.
For whatever reason, I know this sounds odd, but I have always had a tough time reading mass market books. I don't know if it's because there are so many words crammed onto very little pages or something else, but since as long as I can remember I have had trouble reading them. I always prefer to buy hardcovers or regular paperback books. I have found recently that I can push myself to read them but mostly only if I am already in love with a series or really really want to read the book in question. This series is hard to find in regular paperback now and seeing as the next omnibus isn't out until March, I picked up the mass markets so I could continue reading them. It did take me a little while to get moving into the book but once I really fell into the world of Morganville, I was fine.
Funny thing about these books is that I actually have scary vampire dreams while reading them. I have never had frightening dreams about vampires no matter what books I am reading at the time. Whenever a bloodsucker is in my dreams at night, I always wake up with a smile on my face. (Yes I know I am a bizarre person). For some reason these books bring me to a mindset where vampires are dangerous. Hmm Go figure. I should probably read a book that is on one of my challenge lists next. Even though I would love to make sure my Shane is ok. Harumph!

Third Time's a Charm

In this case, third book's a charm. I actually learned of the book I Am Number Four on a facebook ad. It popped up in my side bar saying something a long the lines of... fans of the Hunger Games will love... or If you enjoyed the Hunger Games and wish there were more... I don't know what I actually expected the book to be about. Besides reading the back of the book, I didn't really research its contents too much. I just picked it up at the book store one day and bought it. I'm a sucker for ads. I never realized it was about aliens. I enjoyed reading something a little bit different for a change. I haven't read an alien novel in a while. The writing was a bit like the Hunger Games but the story was nothing like it at all. The author kept me enthralled throughout and I had a hard time putting it down. I love the detail put into it, he really paints a picture of what Lorien looked like and really brought each character to life. They all had their own personality and stuck out strongly among each other, no one blended in or was lost. Even the bad guys were unique, described like nothing I have read before. Every so often I had the feeling like I had read this book before but I realized it was a bit similar to Stephenie Meyer's The Host. But not enough to make me feel as though the author didn't have his own ideas.
Beside being the third book in my 52 books challenge it also covers the first book in my "whats in a name challenge". I need to read book with a number in the name. Now I have.

Two for the money...

Book number two for 2011 is done. Besides being book number 2 of 52, it is also the first book in my Seconds Challenge.  Watching the Roses is the second book in the Egerton Hall series. The first book is titled The Tower Room and I read it back in 2008. Each of the books in this trilogy is a fairytale retold revolving around 3 best friends living in the 1960's who met at their boarding school in England. The first book is a retelling of Rapunzel and stars the one friend, Megan. This second book is Sleeping Beauty and is about Alice.
About halfway through the book, you find out that it is about rape. Alice has many Aunts and on the day of her birth each Aunt gives her the gift of a wish each holds for her life and future. The outcast Aunt puts a curse on her that says she will die by her 18th birthday. In an attempt to squelch this curse, one of other aunts wishes for her to have a long life. Because of the curse, Alice and her family decide to have a large party for her 18th birthday as opposed to waiting for her 21st both in an attempt to show they are strong against the curse and to be sure she gets to celebrate just in case. At the party Alice is raped by someone from her past. After this she goes into a semi-catatonic state. When people are around she lays in bed unmoving, eyes closed and silent. When no one is nearby she eats just enough to sustain her, takes quick trips to the bathroom, writes in a book and looks out the window at her dad's roses. She refuses to look in the mirror, knowing that she must not look like her. The book is basically her writing in a notebook about the events that led up to the party and the incident at the party. Every so often she writes about a different type of rose, its name, what it looks like and where it is in their yard. (I enjoy weird little facts like these so I loved each time she would describe a rose).
This book is only 174 pages and could be read in one sitting. I didn't have the time to do this and I have to say that it made it difficult to read. It is the type of book that you need to read almost straight through to get the full feeling behind it. Reading in small bits whenever you have time makes it seem inconsequential. Once I had the time to sit and really fall into it I was able to see the significance of it and really feel the pain and suffering that Alice and her family were going through.

The One, The Only...

My first book of the year was a "non-scheduled" book, basically because I began it before I decided to do all the mini challenges this year. It was a Blue Bloods novel, book #4, The Van Alen Legacy. This book was difficult to follow because it was so long ago since I read the first three books in the series that I forgot most of what happened. I kept having to look up the details online when I would get confused. Once I caught myself up on all the previous plots, I was able to keep up pretty well with the storyline. But every so often things became so detailed and extensive that it was confusing. I felt like the author was pushing too hard to make it interesting. I was enjoying it more during the simpler explanations. Another thing I noticed was many influences from other novels... and at times the "influences" were exact ideas that I had read in other books. It seemed like she was trying to piece together other popular YA Sci-fi books in order to make her book like-able. The funny thing was that she had some pretty original ideas in the beginning of the series and was actually creating a pretty interesting world. I will continue with the series at some point because I am interested in seeing what happens to everyone but I am going to read a couple of my scheduled books before I read any more unscheduled ones.
One thing I will say is that this book in the series finally made me like Mimi. She became more real and less of a bitch. The author really allowed the reader to get to know Mimi on deeper level in this book. We go to see a softer side of her and in the end you really do feel bad for the way things ended for her.
In 31 minutes it will be my birthday so i should probably go get some beauty rest and hope that it helps to keep me from looking as old as I feel.

2011, another new year, many new books

Starting off another year. Don't know how it's possible that a whole year has passed since I started this blog. This year I am going to continue doing the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge (52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge). But I have decided to spice it up a bit by participating in several other challenges that will all blend into the 52 in 52. Here are the other challenges I am going to do this year:

The Debut Author Challenge. I will read 12 books by debut authors. Should be fun. I probably read that many debut authors a year anyway.This is where you can find the challenge: The Story Siren.

The Dystopian Challenge, I will read 15 Dystopian novels. There are different levels to this challenge, I will be doing the Contagion (15 books). This challenge can be found Here
These are the books I have chosen: along with some alternatives if needed

1. Matched   by Ally Condie
2. The Maze Runner   by James Dashner
3. Skinned      by Robin Wasserman
4. Crashed     by Robin Wasserman
5. Wired        by Robin Wasserman
6. The Forest of Hands and Teeth    by Carrie Ryan
7. Bar Code Tattoo      by Suzanne Weyn
8. Life as We Knew It      by Susan Beth Pfeffer
9. The Dead and the Gone  by Susan Beth Pfeffer
10. This World We Live In   by Susan Beth Pfeffer
11. Feed by MT Anderson
12. The Bar Code Rebellion   by Suzanne Weyn
13. Dead Tossed Waves   by Carrie Ryan
14. Gone     by Michael Grant
15. Hunger  by Michael Grant

These are my alternatives:

1. Never Let me Go   by Kazuo Ishiguro
2. The Scorch Trials   by James Dashner
3. Unwind       by Neal Schusterman
4. The Sky Inside   by Clare B Dunkle
5. The Shadow Children Sequence  by Margaret Peterson Haddix
6. The Secret Under My Skin   by Janet Elizabeth McNaughton

1st in a series Challenge: I have chosen the lowest level on this challenge so I will leave myself room for none scheduled books: Series Novice, 3 books that are the first in a series. Here is the link to this challenge.
Here are the books I have Chosen for this as well as a few alternatives:

1. White Cat  (Curse Workers)   by Holly Black
2. Moonlight   (Dark Guardian)   by Rachel Hawthorne
3. Strange Angels (Strange Angels)  by Lili St. Crow

Alternatives

1. Bloodlust (Vampire Beach) by Alex Duval
2. Cycler  by Lauren McLaughlin
3. A Taint in the Blood   (Shadowspawn) by SM Sterling

Seconds Challenge: With this challenge I must choose books that are the second in a series or second book I have read by that author. I have again chosen the lowest level because I don't want to fill up all my spaces I will be doing Just a spoonful, 3 books.   The link is here.
The books I will read plus alternatives

1. Valiant (Modern Tale of Faerie book 2) by Holly Black
2. Full Moon (Dark Guardian) by Rachel Hawthorne
3. Watching the Roses (Egerton Hall book 2)   by Adele Geras

Alternatives

1. Blue Moon (Immortals book 2)  by Alyson Noel
2. Rise of the Evening Star (Fablehaven Book 2) by Brandon Mull
3. Seeing Redd (Looking Glass Wars Book 2)  by Frank Beddor

 What's in a Name Challenge: This challenge has 6 different categories and you must read one book in each category. Here is the Link   The Categories are :

1. A book with a number in the title:  I Am Number Four, Less Than Zero, 33 Snowfish
2. A book with jewelry or a gem in the title:  Midnight Pearls,
3. A book with a size in the title:  Deadly Little Secret
4. A book with travel or movement in the title: The Journey (Ga'Hoole),
5. A book with evil in the title: Token of Darkness,
6. A book with a life stage in the title  Ghostgirl, Nice Girls Don't have Fangs, Boys that Bite      

All of the small challenges I have chosen to do add up to 39 books which leaves me a total of 13 books that I can choose at random. Last year when I did the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge I was not structured at all... I just chose my books as I would finish them. It should be interesting doing this by a list. Looking forward to a Stimulating year.