Monthly Reading Round Up - July 2011

The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner - Finished July 4th, 2011

3 out of 5 stars

The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell - Finished July 7th, 2011

4 out of 5 stars

The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg - Finished July 9th, 2011

4 out of 5 stars

Shine by Lauren Myracle - Finished July 14th, 2011

5 out of 5 stars

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness - Finished July 18th, 2011

The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May and June by Robin Benway - Finished July 20th, 2011

3 out of 5 stars

Picture the Dead by Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown - Finished July 22nd, 2011

3 out of 5 stars

The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness - Finished July 22nd, 2011

3 out of 5 stars

Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness - Finished July 26th, 2011

2 out of 5 stars

The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart - Finished July 27th, 2011

Jane by April Lindner - Finished July 28th, 2011

3 out of 5 stars

The Boy Book by E. Lockhart - Finished July 28th, 2011

4 out of 5 stars

Treasure Map of Boys by E. Lockhart - Finished July 29th, 2011

Real Live Boyfriends - E. Lockhart - Finished July 31st, 2011

5 out of 5 stars

Books Finished: 14

2011 book total: 61

Favorite This Month: I absolutely loved the Ruby Oliver series by E. Lockhart (The Boyfriend List, The Boy Book, Treasure Map of Boys and Real Live Boyfriends).  A lot of the young adult books I have read recently have been focused on romance almost singularly for the plot, and while Ruby is a bit boy crazy, these books have so much more going for them.  I was fascinated by Ruby's complex relationship with her parents and was horrified for her when her relationship with her best friend Kim started going south.  Ruby is funny, and smart as a whip and I really enjoyed seeing the world through her eyes. 

Shine was also an excellent book.  It's not something that you would expect from a young adult book, but it was a really beautiful and moving book.

Least Favorite This Month: I loved the first book in the Chaos Walking series (The Knife of Never Letting Go) but I really couldn't stand Monsters of Men.  Todd's relationship with the mayor and the fact that everyone was willing to forgive him for just about anything he did really irked me. 

I loved the idea of a modern day retelling of Jane Eyre, and while I think the author did a pretty good job of giving the characters a modern twist, I didn't find this book nearly as good as the original.

Other:  I was able to read at an insane pace in July because I got hurt at work and haven't been able to go back (more on that another day).

Monthly Reading Round Up - June 2011

Forgive me for posting these so late and all at once!

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly - Finished June 4th 

4 out of 5 stars

The Duff by Kody Keplinger - Finished June 9th

4 out of 5 stars

Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky - Finished June 12th

3 out of 5 stars

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson - Finished June 13th

4 out of 5 stars

Summer and the City by Candice Bushnell - Finished June 14th

3 out of 5 stars

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson - Finished June 19th

3 out of 5 stars

Seers of Light by Jennifer DeLucy - Finished June 24th

4 out of 5 stars

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson - Finished June 28th
3 out of 5 stars

Books Finished: 8

2011 book total: 47

Favorite This Month:I think I'm going to have to say Seers of Light.  I was a little reluctant to read this book because I'm still pretty burned out on paranormal romances', but I really enjoyed this book.  I think I read it in a day or two.  The Duff would probably be my second choice.

Least Favorite This Month: Summer in the City was really a drag for me.  I know it's been a few months since I read this book, but the only thing I can remember about it was that Carrie wanted to date an older man.  I bought this book right away when it came out, but I don't think I will pick up the third book when it comes out.


Other:  I finally picked up the Millennium Trilogy books in June.  While I really loved Lisbeth (she's seriously bad ass), I thought these books were pretty out there.  I found myself rolling my eyes whenever Mikael had sex with every female character in the books.  Regardless, I loved trying to figure out the mysteries of the books and I think had Mr. Larsson not passed away, I would have read everything else from the series because I loved Lisbeth so much.

1 year!

I meant to make a post about my anniversary while I was on vacation, but the hotel we were staying in charged for internet access.  We were gone for 13 days, so I'm pretty behind on making this post but I wanted to say thank you so very, very much to everyone who e-mailed, called or texted me to tell me happy anniversary!  I can't believe it has already been a year!  It feels like it was just yesterday that I was destroying our living room with all of my paper crafts.  

I originally planned on making an epic picture post of Ronnie and I, but he doesn't really read my blog so it will probably be another year before he sees it.  Instead I want to make an epic picture post of all of my friends and family who made it out for our special day.  I love you guys.  You all helped make it one of the most wonderful days of our lives. 

A good friend is a connection to life - a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world.  ~Lois Wyse