- Point Blanc - eBook that was already checked out from the library
- The Battle of the Labyrinth - Book on CD that was already checked out
- The Lonely Hearts Club - Book that was already checked out
- Artemis Fowl - Book on CD that was already checked out
- Love You Hate You Miss You - Book that was already checked out
- The Last Olympian - Book on CD that was on hold
I didn't read much, did I? I'm on a bit of an anti-reading, pro-TV kick right now... I expect it'll wear off soon. :)
Summary(via the author's website): "All year the half-bloods have been preparing for battle against the Titans, knowing the odds of victory are grim. Kronos’s army is stronger than ever, and with every god and half-blood he recruits, the evil Titan’s power only grows.
While the Olympians struggle to contain the rampaging monster Typhon, Kronos begins his advance on New York City, where Mount Olympus stands virtually unguarded. Now it’s up to Percy Jackson and an army of young demigods to stop the Lord of Time. In this momentous final book in the New York Times best-selling Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, the long-awaited prophecy surrounding Percy’s sixteenth birthday unfolds. And as the battle for Western civilization rages on the streets of Manhattan, Percy faces a terrifying suspicion that he may be fighting against his own fate."
Review: So, out of the whole series, I think my favorite running joke is how Dionysus doesn't know Percy's name (or rather, refuses to say it correctly). He usually starts out with "Peter Johnson" and goes from there, with every iteration turning out a little more wacky and creative.*
Anyway, this book was pretty awesome. The stakes were bigger, there were more gods running around, and it was definitely a nail-biting conclusion. Yay Percy!
Over the series, Percy's become a lot more confident with himself and the sort of things he can accomplish. Even though he's still kind of dim (which I STILL think is more a plot device than anything), there was a lot less of that in this book, which I really appreciated. In this book it was more of him being confused about girls, which I'm given to understand most boys are, so that was ok. :)
I haven't mentioned this before, but I'm very impressed with the prophecies. They're always awesome and cryptic and then make perfect sense by the end, and that is awesome.
Goodreads Summary: "You know, I always thought I told you everything, but there are some things I should have said but never did. I should have told you about the time I lost your new sunglasses. I know you really liked them. I should have apologized the time I ruined your brand-new skirt, the one with the beading. I should have apologized for a lot of stuff.
I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything.
It's been seventy five days. Amy's sick of her parents suddenly taking an interest in her, and she's really sick of people asking her about Julia. Julia's gone, and Amy doesn't want to talk about it. No one knew Julia like she did. No one gets what life is without her.
No one understands what it's like to know that it's all your fault.
Amy's shrink thinks she should keep a journal but instead, Amy starts writing letters to Julia. As she writes letter after letter, she begins to realize that the past holds its own secrets--and that the present deserves a chance."
Review: I've heard that Elizabeth Scott is a YA staple, as it were, so I decided that I needed to read one of her books, seeing as how I'd never even heard of her before I started this blog. It was... huh.
During this big thing in Texas, one of the things I heard about this particular type of YA is that it helps people, specifically teens who are going through similar situations. I can see that. While I haven't been in most of Amy's specific situations (being a squeaky-clean Mormon girl doesn't generally lend itself to alcohol problems or unsupervised teenage-drinking type parties), there were themes I could relate to. Guilt. Learning that the hero you have on a pedestal isn't necessarily perfect. Dealing with parents.
However, a lot of the Big Issues (alcohol/drug use, teenage sex, abusive friends) are stuff I never did have to deal with as a teen, and it just... wasn't something I could relate to. Instead of being therapeutic, it felt a little more like voyeurism, if you will.
In a sentence, the book was well executed, but not my cup of tea.
Summary: "From a strikingly original voice in fiction comes the story of Artemis Fowl, a very unusual hero. Artemis combines the astuteness of Sherlock Holmes with the sangfroid of James Bond and the attitude of Attila the Hun. But even Artemis doesn't know what he's taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of LEPrecon Unit. These aren't the fairies of bedtime stories. These fairies are armed and they're dangerous. Artemis thinks he's got them just where he wants them, but then they stop playing by the rules..."
Review: So. Thoughts. I started this one on a strong recommendation from my sister, with the caveat that, "I didn't think they were amazing until halfway through the second one." (Which, admittedly, is kind of how I feel about Percy Jackson.)
I liked Holly better than I liked Artemis, so I'm glad I spent so much time hearing about her.
The whole thing felt rather like a "first episode of" something. I feel like the other books are going to be more of the Exciting Adventure type, and this is more of a Here's How These People All Know Each Other Type.
And that's all I really have to say about that. Oh wait, one more thing: I DO have The Arctic Incident on hold at the library, so, y'know. There's that.
Summary (via the author's website): "Love is all you need…or is it?
Penny is sick of boys and sick of dating, so she vows: No more. She’s had one too many bad dates, and has been hurt by one too many bad boys. It’s a personal choice…and soon everybody wants to know about it. It seems that Penny’s not the only girl who’s tired of the way girls change themselves (most of the time for the worse) in order to get their guys…or the way their guys don’t really care about them.
Girls are soon thronging to The Lonely Hearts Club (named after Sgt. Pepper’s band), and Penny finds herself near legendary for her non-dating ways – which is too bad, since the leader of The Lonely Hearts Club has found a certain boy she can’t help but like…"
Review: This was a cute book, I'm not gonna lie. I liked the story, and I liked the characters. I admit, I thought the "perfect boy" was a little too perfect, and I thought the "perfect girl" was a little too perfect, too. But overall, it was a really good feelgood book.
I'm also super pleased that even though Penny's family were total Beatles fanatics, and it had the potential to get really wacky and awkward and unrealistic, it actually wasn't. It was realistic enough that even though Elizabeth Eulberg was poking fun a little, it wasn't a caricature at all. It was just cute. :)
Summary (via the author's website): "Percy Jackson isn’t expecting freshman orientation to be any fun, but when a mysterious mortal acquaintance appears, pursued by demon cheerleaders, things quickly go from bad to worse.
Time is running out for Percy. War between the gods and the Titans is drawing near. Even Camp Half-Blood isn’t safe, as Kronos’s army prepares to invade its once impenetrable borders. To stop them, Percy and his friends must set out on a quest through the Labyrinth — a sprawling underground world with surprises and danger at every turn.
Along the way Percy will confront powerful enemies, find out the truth about the lost god Pan, and face the Titan lord Kronos’s most terrible secret. The final war begins . . . with the Battle of the Labyrinth."
Review: So, it's never bothered me before, but it occurs to me now that Percy's not very bright, is he? Annabeth has to explain pretty much everything to him. I realize that this is kind of expositional, but it's also kind of annoying... Are most boys like that? Am I just more of an Annabeth than a Percy?
I can sympathize on the 'boy-girl stuff' front, though. Looking back, it seemed pretty clear what was going on for a while, as an outsider looking in, but near the end there things got... complicated.
I'm still liking this series a lot; I'm thinking I'm gonna go back and read it all in print, once I'm done, since so far I've listened to the whole thing on audio. It's got a good "read it again" quality.
Goodreads Summary: "When an investigation into a series of mysterious deaths leads agents to an elite prep school for rebellious kids, MI6 assigns Alex Rider to the case. Before he knows it, Alex is hanging out with the sons of the rich and powerful, and something feels wrong. These former juvenile delinquents have turned well-behaved, studious—and identical—overnight. It’s up to Alex to find out who is masterminding this nefarious plot, before they find him."
Review: What a great popcorn book! It's light, it's relatively low-stakes (yes, he's getting shot at and stuff, but we all know he's gonna be ok, ok?), and it's a quick read.
I like Alex. He's smart, he's clever, he's calm under pressure. Sometimes he's a little too much like an adult, but then other times he goes and does something that's a little more teenagerish, so that's ok. :)
Mel over at Mel's Books and Info is hosting Read Your Own Books August; basically, for those with a book-buying addiction, it's acting as an excuse/support group to stop buying books and read the ones you already have. :) I don't have a book-buying addiction, but I DO have a library addiction (and a DVD buying addiction... but this isn't a DVD blog), so I'll still get something out of it. Also, I like supporting people. :)
Here are the books I can read this month:
- Books and eBooks I own right now.
- Books and eBooks checked out from the library right now.
- Books and eBooks that are on hold at the library, as long as they can't be renewed. If the due date is after August 31, I have to wait.
- Audiobooks I have checked out from the library right now.
If you want to participate, just head over and sign up!
Finish Indonesia and discuss general feelings on the book. How did it affect you? I read this book at a time in my life when I was really struggling and it had a profound effect on me so I am curious to see what others thought of something so deeply personal. Will you go see the movie? Will you read Committed which is Gilbert’s follow up to Eat Pray Love?
What are some of your favorite quotes from the book?
Ok. So. The book.
The love section was... I'm not sure. I'm gonna call it my least favorite section. I don't know what it was about it, but it just... didn't do it for me. And I'm pretty ok with that.
I was sad about the part where her friend was trying to con her for more money; I mean, Liz somehow managed to get this huge donation from all of her friends, so that this sweet lady could finally have a place to live, and then she tries to swindle her and get more! That was pretty awful to me. I like the way she handled it, though. That it meant enough to her to maintain that friendship and try to still be on good terms with her. So... way to be, Liz.
As a whole, I think I got the most out of the Pray section. It's kind of inspired me to try to delve a little further into my own spirituality. I was raised religious, and I've been religious all my life, but I feel like I'm getting complacent in what I do, and that I need to work more to be closer to my Heavenly Father. Liz's spiritual growth makes me want to find that in my own life, and I think I'm going to start figuring out what I can do that will help fulfill those needs in my own life.
I'm actually pretty excited about the movie now. For one thing, now that I've read the book, the trailer makes a lot more sense. At first, I wasn't too stoked about it, seeing as how most Hollywood movies are really crappy these days. But after I'd finished the book, I watched the trailer again and remembered how Julia Roberts is actually a fantastic actress. So I think now I'm ready to watch it. :)
I may or may not read the follow-up book, Committed; I definitely want to pick it up and see what it's all about, though.
As far as my favorite quotes, most of them were from the Pray section and can be found in this post.
Thanks, guys, for participating in this book club! It's been a lot of fun to be a part of. :) In closing, here's the video that began my experience with this book.
SO. Here's the list of books I read this month -
