Let's Try This Again

Seriously sorry for such a hiatus. This summer I played host to my thesis class, which meant one month shorter to research and write such a project as well as the fact that my grandfather is sick and so I had to take a three week break in the middle to deal with family drama. Yes, it made the production of my thesis a stressful and extremely time consuming endeavor. I now appreciate my father working on his dissertation with four children running around as well. The only difference, I had four children running around and no spouse to remove them from the house when the noise became too extreme. However, after all that stress and nearly 400 pages later, I had my Master's thesis complete and graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with my Masters in Library and Information Science. Now, if only I could get a job. . .

As a result of a stressful last two semesters, I have been a complete and utter failure in the upkeep of my reading log. However, I have seriously gotten down to business in the last couple of months. Largely  because I have found some seriously fun reading material in the form of some great E-Book material. Yes, some of it can also be in print, but many of these were originally published in E-format. Now me personally, I love the printed book. One, it doesn't get hot when I read it. Two, I don't have to charge it constantly in order to read all day. Three, a paper book has both the texture and the smell to go along with it. However, in our lovely digital age, digital books cannot be ignored. It is cheaper to publish via digital printing and I really think there are a lot of new authors out there who don't get the chance at paper but do in a digital format. The only major issue I have with digital books is that they really seem to not be edited as well as a print books. There are far more typographical errors in an digital book than in a print book although those are not exempt either. It is annoying but if the author has construct a story that pulls you in enough, I'm able to accept that these books are not edited as well and move on.

**For July and August I'm just going to put up a list of what was read and if you have any questions about any of them, just give me a shout.**

July 2012

**Note: Any E-book listed does not contain page numbers. Titles with * beside them are series that are not yet completed.**

*Warriors of Ankh; By: Samantha Young
1-Blood Will Tell
2-Blood Past
3-Shades of Blood

*Fire Spirits;  By: Samantha Young
1-Smokeless Fire
2-Scorched Skies
3-Borrowed Ember

The Tale of Lunarmorte; By: Samantha Young
1- Moon Spell
2-River Cast
3-Blood Solstice

Drip Drop Tear;  By: Samantha Young

*The Fade;  By: Samantha Young
1-Slumber

NOTE--Samantha Young has become a favorite of mine after reading these. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. Also, The Tale of Lunarmorte series, while technically being complete, looks like she may continue with a spin off type series.

The Watchers Trilogy;  By Karice Bolton
1-Awakening
2-Legions
3-Cataclysm

Total for the month of July: 14 titles


August 2012

*Midnight Fire;  By: Kaitlyn Davis
1-Ignite
2-Simmer

*Darkwoods Series;  By: J.A. Redmerski
1-Mayfair Moon
2- Kindred

Cloud Prophet Trilogy;  By: Megg Jensen
1-Anathema
2-Oubliette
3-Severed

The Initiate;  By: Megg Jensen

*The Swarm Trilogy;  By: Megg Jensen
1-Sleepers
2-Afterlife

*The Grey Wolf Series; By: Quinn Loftis
1-Prince of Wolves
2-Blood Rites
3-Just One Drop
4-Out of the Dark

*The Arelia LeRue Series; By: Kira Saito
1-Bound
2-Punished
3-Possessed

*Ancient Legends; By: Jayde Scott
1-The Job-From Hell
2-Beelzebub Girl
3-Voodoo Kiss
4-Dead and Beyond

Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy; By: E.L. James
1-Fifty Shades of Grey (528)
2-Fifty Shades Darker (544)
3-Fifty Shades Freed (592)

*Delirium Series; By: Lauren Oliver
1-Delirium (441)

*Otherworld Trilogy;  By: Jenna Elizabeth Johnson
1-Faelorehn
2-Domarehn

*The Arotas Trilogy; By: Amy Miles
1-Forbidden
2-Reckoning

*Fallen Angels Saga; By: E. Van Lowe
1-Boyfriend from Hell
2-Earth Angel

The Rippler Trilogy; By: Cidney Swanson
1-Rippler
2-Chameleon
3-Unfurl

Seasons of the Moon; By: S.M. Reine
1-Six Moon Summer
2-All Hallows' Moon
3-Long Night Moon
4-Gray Moon Rising

Total for the month of August: 38 titles

I have to say that I believe August is a personal record for me, one I'm actually hoping to meet or break in September but we shall see what life hands me. I have many opinions on each title, all you have to do is ask, but I will admit keeping up with my habit and discussing each book in detail would take alot away from the actual act of reading and I kind of need that more than anything else right now, so I'm going to ease back into the blogging thing in the hopes that this time it sticks.!! Happy Reading Everyone!

September/October Books 2011

First off, I'd like to apologize. This semester has been excruciating for me and as a result, I've fallen off the blog universe. September was especially hard when it came to reading as well. I was desperately trying to finish a series that really didn't endear itself to me in the fifth book, but more of that below. This will be long as I'm including pictures and both months here. As always, any questions, send me a message. . .

Title: A Song of Fire and Ice: A Dance with Dragons, Book 5
Author: George R. R. Martin
Pages: 1016
Age Level: Adult

This book just about killed me. It took me most of the month of September to finish it because it simply dragged on and on. The book could have been half as long and been far more engaging. I swear, half the book is simply a listing of everything they eat at feasts, and apparently the people eat ALOT!! It really stalled the book whenever something like that came up, because it would go on for pages describing every serving and they didn't settle for one or two, no there were usually like fifty. One or two of these scenes would have been enough to show what the people ate, it was totally unnecessary to go on and on like Martin did. I got half way through and seriously considered stopping, but when you've read more than 500 pages already, it's so hard to just give up. The main story line is compelling, but while this is both a companion and extension of book four, I was really disappointed in it as a whole. Too much was left out and I'm getting tired of the bad guys always winning. After a while, while that may be "reality", it becomes taxing. Eventually you want the good guys to win, and this book really makes you think that's not going to happen ever.

Title: Speak
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Pages: 198
Grade Level: 8-12 grade

Speak is about a girl entering the ninth grade with a big black mark on her. She called the cops at a party over the summer and got alot of people in trouble. The problem is that while everyone hates her for this, they don't understand why she did it. At that party she had been raped, and she told no one. She tried to tell the police, but couldn't speak when she called them. She doesn't speak about it at all for most of the book but spirals and deals with the hate all around her and the torment of her rapist as well in silence and alone. Through one teacher who allows her time to find her voice again, she finally begins a path back. This is a great book that really makes you think about how to deal with the student or person in your life that needs the most help but never asks for it.

Title: Dragon's Oath
Author: P.C. and Kristin Cast
Pages: 145
Grade Level: 6-10 grade

This is a background spin off novella of the House of Night series. It tells the story of Dragon Lankford and Anastasia. It's short, it's sweet, and it's intense. It really shows a piece of a character that is not delved into in the main books.

Title: The Gray Wolf Throne, Book 3
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Pages: 517
Grade Level: 6-12

Fighting for a throne is hard work especially when you don't have anyone you can really trust. This is the third book in this series and it is apparent the series isn't over. It's a story of strength, love, magic, and deception.

Title: The Heroes of Olympus: The Son of Neptune, Book 2
Author: Rick Riordan
Pages: 521
Grade Level: 5-10

Welcome back Percy Jackson! This is the adventure of Percy at the Roman encampment. The timeline is in conjunction with the first book. I just love Riordan. He really has a talent of bringing the ancient Gods and all the drama around them to life.

Title: The Death Cure, Book 3
Author: James Dashner
Pages: 324
Grade Level: 9-12

This is one wild ride and the conclusion of the trilogy. At the end of the book, all I could think was "duh!! why didn't they do that in the first place." This book deals alot of death and struggle and in the end one is left with both hope and despair. Definitely a fitting end for the series.

Title: Crescendo, Book 2
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Pages: 427
Grade Level: 9-12

I just received the third book in this series and realized I'd never gotten around to the second, oops. This is a paranormal romance.

Title: Silence, Book 3
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Pages: 438
Grade Level: 9-12

The third book in the series and definitely not the end. This book shows that love, real love, can break down any barrier.

Title: Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception, Book 1
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Pages: 325
Grade Level: 9-12

Faeries are dangerous and tricky. They sure don't like it when you fight back. For Deirdre it is even harder because she is a cloverhand, which makes her magical and a threat to the current Faerie Queen. Add in that the assassin sent to kill her falls in love with her instead and you have a fun tale with heavy Irish lore and a romance you both root for and despair over.

Title: Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie, Book 2
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Pages: 353
Grade Level: 9-12

A sad second part when you realize that love doesn't conquer all afterall. Deirdre's voice is all by absent in this second book and that is actually quite well done, as it shows her severe isolation and just how lost she is.

Title: The Ranger's Apprentice: The Lost Stories
Author: John Flanagan
Pages: 422
Grade Level: 5-9

These are supplemental stories to the series and also serve as a bridge between The Ranger's Apprentice series and the upcoming Brotherband Chronicles. It answers some fan questions about the series and finally Will and Alyss are married.

October was a much better month than September. Only the first three were read in September, I felt like an utter failure, but thankfully October was blessed with a lot of new releases that I have had on preorder for months. This next month, I will be beginning again with the Eragon series since the final book is finally being released this month!!!!

Total for September: 1,359
Total for October: 3,327
Total for 2011: 31,643