while she knits - summer's end

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

It's hard to imagine summer ending soon--what with the nasty 86% humidity and all--but vacations are over, kids are starting back to school, and folks are returning to college.

How about a Reading Recap?  What's the best book you read this summer?  What's one that just didn't work for you?

Comments

[thelasteddis.livejournal.com]

Whoa.

Summer... over? *cannot compute*

Reading recap. I postively loved Howl's Moving Castle, of course. That takes the #1 spot. The Hunger Games was pretty fantastic as well - can't wait for Catching Fire to come out. And, although I'm not sure if this counts, I read a bunch of Phillipa Gregory, which are historical fiction about the Tudors, and those were a lot of fun.

...Books I didn't like? it's summer, I'm allowed to have a short attention span. Pretty much if I wasn't into a book by halfway through, I stopped... so I don't really remember many. But it just goes to show how many wonderful books there are in the world that I only did that once or twice in the whole summer. :-)

[readsintrees.livejournal.com]

I've read a few Philippa Gregory ones too. Most recently was The Virgin's Lover, which I didn't like as much as The Constant Princess or The Other Boleyn Girl. It showed Elizabeth as kind of pathetic, weak, love sick.....which may or may not be accurate, but I prefer the cunning, clever Elizabeth of other books.

Also read Howl's Moving Castle, but it wasn't the first time so it doesn't count for this question.

[tencups-i-swear.livejournal.com]

Wthering Heights was by far best book I've read lately, then The Princess Bride and Jane Eyre.
ALthough, I absolutely love Howls Moving Castle as well! :)

[It's still actually Winter here in NZ though, so I'm going by best books in the last three months.]

[styromgalleries.livejournal.com]

The Princess Bride! Yes! I need to reread this book! I love love love the movie too and it retained so much of the book, I usually just go to it because it's quicker. XD

[reader-marie.livejournal.com]

Usually I hate choosing "bests" because there are always so many that vie for attention. However, this year, the best book I discovered was definitely Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork. Marcelo is a slightly autistic young man whose father insists he get a "real" summer job instead of working at his specialize school. Chaos and beauty ensue...it's really a beautiful read.

I'm trying to remember if there were books that didn't really work for me. I finally read the Twilight books. I didn't hate them...but neither did I love them. That's as close as I can come right now...

[readsintrees.livejournal.com]

Ugh, Twilight.....I won't get started, suffice to say that this article sums up my feelings:

http://psa.blastmagazine.com/2008/08/23/twilight-a-follow-up-and-a-promise/

[readsintrees.livejournal.com]

I read so many books that I use a Facebook application to keep track of them (helps to prevent accidentally rereading a less favorable book) so I looked back.

The book I gave the highest star rating to was "Mara, Daughter of the Nile". Very good book that gave Egypt a "real" quality.

Book with the lowest star rating? "Troy" by Adele Geras. Although this book gets good reviews from everyone else, I couldn't get through it. It really seemed to drag......starting out several years into the war, it skips all of the interesting things about the war beginning. So basically we're just reading the boring stuff in the middle, and then presumably the book wraps up with the destruction of Troy. For this book to work, the author would need to make the story telling interesting in order to keep me intrigued, since we all already know how it ends, it being a pre-existing mythology. Alas, nothing about the story telling felt original, despite it jumping from person to person in the viewpoint. In two weeks I read maybe half of the book.....which made all of my other library books wait until they were almost overdue. Two weeks for half a book is SLOW beyond belief. I finally gave up and moved on to better things. For me to quit a book is extremely rare.

[thelasteddis.livejournal.com]

Mara = EPIC WIN

I enjoyed Troy - I think the author totally deserves a thumbs-up, UNLESS she wasn't trying to write a comedic Mary Sue fanfic. XD
I loved how the heros of the war were all so taken with the weird, insane chilluns that had been found in the woods. And that the weird chilluns kept seeing GODS, who pretty much didn't show themselves to anyone else. And that one of the author's characters had guessed that Cassandra could see the future. And that they ALL SURVIVED THE SACK OF TROY. But I think the best was that all the heros were always CONFIDING in our favorite crazy chilluns. Like, "hello strange witch-child that I took into my household to weave with me, for no apparent reason besides how totally fantastic she is, did you know that I'm aware that my husband cheats on me at least three times a day? I just had to tell someone and, since you're so fantastic, I thought it might as well be you."

I don't know where all those awards came from, actually. Most awards commitees don't like fanfiction that much.

[kittylevin.livejournal.com]

1984? Well, actually I'm not done with it yet. But I have a feeling it will be the best book of the summer for me. :)

[styromgalleries.livejournal.com]

1984. Wonderful book.

I also love Fahrenheit 451, which I always associate with 1984 Both of them are great stories, and it's crazy how you start to see parallels in "the real world" after reading them.

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

LORD PETER WIMSEY. I just turned the books back into the library, but I'm still kind of on a Lord Peter HIGH. *twitch* *twitch*

I re-read To Say Nothing of the Dog and it was AWESOME. Again. Read (well, listened to a recording of) Three Men in a Boat. Hilarious.

Re-read 1st and 3rd Volumes of the Chronicles of Chrestomanci. Conrad's Fate is a very close second for my Favorite DWJ.

Little Dorrit. Charles Dickens was a Very Funny Guy. Gotta read (listen to) more of his stuff.

Lets see, what else... The Scarlet Pimpernel, the Sherwood Ring, Jane Eyre, more Miles (I WILL finish the Miles Books eventually)

Yes, my friends, this was a Very Good summer for reading.

SLIGHTLY OFF TOPIC

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

OH YES AND I ALSO NEED HELP.

So my brother has been asking me for books to read. Of course I told him to read Thief, Queen and King but he wants other books as well. Books he says I've given him that he's actually liked are Enders Game, The Blue Sword and the Temeraire Books. He liked The Scarlet Pimpernel except for Margurite Being Annoying. He really did not like Howl's Moving Castle at all (I wouldn't have expected him to--I didn't actually give it to him, he just picked it up and read it because me and my mom and sisters all liked it). HELP PLEEZE.

[viviolo.livejournal.com]

Let's see... out of everything new I read this summer, I have to go with The Hunger Games as my favorite. Because any book featuring hardcore ladies being hardcore will win my unconditional love.

Other than that, I really enjoyed The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan, and The Changeling Sea by Patricia McKillip. I fell in love with Nikolai Gogol's short stories too, as well as Jim Harrison's poetry. Also, I read a buttload of great history books. Because history texts are made of win. :D

I can't think of a book I read this summer that I didn't like. But I generally don't read new things now unless I get a strong recommendation, or I've read the author before.

[lady-schrapnell.livejournal.com]

I really liked The Demon's Lexicon (Irish writer - yay!), and LOVE The Changeling Sea. It's one of my favourite McKillips, out of a lot of favourites. :) Feeling a reread need now.

[peanut13171.livejournal.com]

My favorite summer reads were:

Thirteenth Child by Patricia Wrede. Interesting and fun.

The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex. Also read his juvenile poetry books and enjoyed them a lot. Rex is amazing. He's an artist, a poet, and a writer. And he does them all well!!

Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome. It made me nostalgic for the gold old days The kids were unbelievably well behaved (no fighting, no arguing, no whining???) but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Currently listening to KoA (4th time) and enjoying it as much as ever. The reader is excellent.

[bluestalking.livejournal.com]

OH I forgot to list 13th Child. That was so good! Like an old and bitter person, I often feel like there aren't that many new books that I can read straight through and never feel like there's a mistake, but I felt that way about this book. THANK YOU PATRICIA WREDE.

Have you never read an Arthur Ransome before????

[styromgalleries.livejournal.com]

Oh my. I've read quite a few books this summer that I've really liked...it's gonna be hard to pick.
Let's see...

I read King of Attolia for the first time ever in May, so I count that as a best book of the summer since I was already out of school at the end of April.

I also read and really enjoyed my first two Discworld novels: The Color of Magic and The Light Fantastic. They were so funny and delightful and I'm so glad to have so many great novels ahead of me that I'll put these here too.

I also have to give props to The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning. There were some things I didn't necessarily like, but there was much more that really got me thinking about grace.

And one more fave (I promise, this is the last): Titus Groan by Mervin Peake. I'm glad I gave this one a second chance (after trying to read it when I was around 13 or so). Very long, very slow, very...interesting. Peake is just a genius! I don't think many people know the English language better than him. I think he even rivals Tolkien as a wordsmith. Seriously, Peake is a master. There's no other way to put it. Not to mention his imagination must have been quite a crazy place to live. Wow.

Now for something I didn't like: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I'm only about 100 and some odd pages into it, but I just don't think I can go any farther. I don't care about the main character--I think that I may not even like him, I see too many cliches that aren't being given a fresh twist, and something about Rothfuss's writing just really gets under my skin. I just don't think I can finish it. I hate to not finish a book, but...eh. No.

[zumie-ashlen.livejournal.com]

Pratchett! I highly recommend the City Guard Watch series next (because there is a character so like Costis that I squee when reading them) and also the Death series.

[shaylee-ann.livejournal.com]

*tries again to stop lurking*

So I know I'm a little behind the times, but I *finally* read Howl's Moving Castle and it's probably one of my favorite books I've read in quite a while. I can't believe I waited so long to read it.
I also loved Demon's Lexicon (like viviolo! :-D) and the other two Diana Wynne Jones books I have now read: The Game and Charmed Life.

[bluestalking.livejournal.com]

Did you like The Game? Because it is the only DWJ book I've ever bought and then gotten rid of. I felt like the premise was nifty and then...nothing happened with it.

I loved Demon's Lexicon too!

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

Having re-read the first three Inda books (Sherwood Smith) earlier in the summer, my summer was about waiting for the final one, Treason's Shore. It certainly didn't disappoint; in fact, it (and the whole series) affected me emotionally for days after I'd finished it. So there's the Favourite Book slot filled straight away. (I could talk about it for pages, but won't, for spoiler reasons.)

I also adored Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. However, although I more or less enjoyed his American Gods while reading it, ultimately it left me fairly unengaged. I certainly didn't dislike it, but given that it won about a million major prizes, I'd expected more. I can't call it Worst Book, or even Least Favourite Book... but it probably ranks as Greatest Disappointment, given my very high expectations.

As for other books, I mostly liked The Demon's Lexicon, though not as much as many others seemed to have liked it. I really liked Knife by RJ Anderson, and also Lament: the Faerie's Queen's Deception, which, although not a Tam Lin retelling itself, led me to do a re-read of various favourite novels that are: Fire and Hemlock, Tam Lin (Pamela Dean) and Perilous Gard, which also led me to re-read The Sherwood Ring. I'm currently re-reading Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus Trilogy, and have also re-read pretty much everything by Hilary McKay and Jacqueline Moriarty. I really need to read some new books, but I'm in the process of Librarythinging my stuff, so keep coming across old favourites and thinking, "ooh, I must read that again"...

[lady-schrapnell.livejournal.com]

Hello, ladyofastolat! I must have missed your post on Treason's Shore while I was away - haven't caught up yet. Huzzah to your loving it too!

I think we've discussed many of the other faves already. :) (You're not on Goodreads, are you? I couldn't upgrade to a paid account on Librarything back when I hit the 200 books limit, and got sucked into Goodreads, which I'm finding easier.)

[katewaits.livejournal.com]

Sadly, nothing has been all that memorable for me this summer. I did reread The Thief, which I hadn't done in ages, so I'll give the "best" nod to that treasure.

I've been reading some fantasy series (not YA) and I've been disappointed by how depressing they are. It's like the authors think they have no credibility if they balance the bitter with some sweet. One thing about the QT series that I love is that, no matter how dark it gets, there's always a thread of hope running through. And the reader's expectation for some positive pay-off for the protagonists is well-founded. They aren't sugary HEAs, but they fulfill a promise of hope and that's what I'm missing in so many fantasy series.

All that to say ... any suggestions? Or should I just stick with YA?

[lady-schrapnell.livejournal.com]

Sherwood Smith's Inda series? It's sad, sometimes, but never depressing, I find. :nods about the hope:

Other than that, I'm with YA all the way.

[lady-schrapnell.livejournal.com]

My standout read of the summer is probably Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater - a really well-done werewolf/human romance, which convinced me totally as a love story, unlike another supernatural romance series, which shall remain unnamed. And it's funny too! Intentionally, rather than inadvertently. :) I loved her Lament, and am now impatiently waiting for Ballad, the sequel.

I also very much liked Lisa Mantchev's Eyes Like Stars, which was again smart and often funny YA fantasy.

For younger readers, in theory, but I thought When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead was wonderful.

[emmaco.livejournal.com]

I haven't read any of these. Which makes it great resouce for my TBR list!

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

Summer? Over? Classes don't start till September 9th! :P

I hate to say it, but I've hardly read any books this summer. I did read the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld, which I loved. The first and last books were my favourite, I think. I initially avoided these books because I thought they looked too dark and 'science fictiony' but when I started reading the first one, I was hooked. They're just so weird! In a good way.

I also read 'The Demon's Lexicon' by Sarah Rees Brennan, but found it rather disappointing. The plot twists were blindingly obvious to me, and I felt like the characters were, for the most part, two-dimensional and unsympathetic. There are also a lot of clunky metaphors that were distracting. The very end of the book was quite well-written, though.

[bluestalking.livejournal.com]

Ohhhhh nooooo I don't have my pig calendar with me! It has all the answers to WHAT I HAVE READ THIS SUMMER. But here are some things that appear in my head so they are probably worthwhile:

Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold BUT THEN I DIDN"T HAVE TIME FOR ANY OF THE ONES WHERE MILES IS ACTUALLY BORN!

Royal Affairs by Leslie Carroll - A few hundred page overview of the romantic affairs of British royalty for the last...thousand years or so. Oh, you might say, that sounds low and crass! Ah, I say--But it is history!

Corambis by Sarah Monette - Last book in the Doctrine of Labyrinths! It has a few weaknesses but I really liked the new characters, I LOVED the new cultures, and Felix who is usually vile but I love him anyway mostly made me go AAAAH I LOVE YOU YOU ARE SO CUTE the whole time.

The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan - Because it is IMPORTANT to see what your favorite fanfic writers turn out, let loose on their own. I thought it had a very nice tight plot, characters who were interesting enough that I want to read the next bit where they inevitably grow, and yet, stood alone in a non-cliffhanger-begging-for-sequel kind of way. Which is good because I am sick of that.

Betsy in Spite of Herself, Betsy was a Junior and Betsy and Joe by Maud Hart Lovelace - I WILL finish the adorable and lovely and wonderful series, I WILL.

Interstellar Pig by William Sleator - Even his funny books are creepy. Amazing! This, by the way, is a really good book. Really good.

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle - You know, I have never read this before but it still feels like a reread just because it turns out the movie was so closely adapted. (WITH SONGS BY "AMERICA.")

[zumie-ashlen.livejournal.com]

Re: Demon's Lexicon: Agreed! I found her through her fanfics. X3

Ooooh The Last Unicorn. I should re-read that. And yes, it's one of the best movie adaptations I've ever seen. Usually if I like a movie and a book, I like them because they go in different ways, and I enjoy seeing the different interpretations. But it really is just like seeing the book brought to life.

[zumie-ashlen.livejournal.com]

Let's see, summer reading... *ponders*

Well, I loved The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Reese Brennan. Just finished The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and also adored that. Same with The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong, and Storm Front by Jim Butcher.

I read Watchmen too, but I didn't care for it. On a whole, most of what I read I liked. :)

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Isn't amazing how much Great Readers Think Alike?

My favorite book of the summer, no contest, was To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis.

Other good reads were The Last Child by John Hart (adult mystery with awesome characters and a gripping story), The 9-11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation by Jacobson & Colon, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Shaffer & Barrows, and Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock.

The one book that just didn't work for me this summer was Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner. I wanted so much to like it, and I'm not sure if it just wasn't what I expected, or that I never got attached to the characters.

[philia-fan.livejournal.com]

I've only read Privilege of the Sword, which I found delightful.

[philia-fan.livejournal.com]

I usually have a summer reading slump, so it's surprising that I liked just about everything I read this summer. Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter, Marcelo in the Real World, Girl in a Cage, The Bermudez Triangle, Bellwether, The Warrior's Apprentice, Ella Minnow Pea, The Neddiad, The Bookshop...I'm probably forgetting some. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian was one of my favorites. The only one that didn't quite work for me was Castaways of the Flying Dutchman, which had a dynamite beginning and then turned into a completely different kind of book that I wasn't very interested in.

[zumie-ashlen.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I'm going to be reading Bellwether for school this semester, so having a commendation from a Sounis member is awesome. :D

-mems-

[(Anonymous)]

Best book I read this summer would definitely be I am the Messenger. How brilliant is Markus Zusak? And why did it take me so long to discover his awesomeness?

I did try reading The Book Thief before I read IATM but couldn't get into it for some reason...will have to try again soon.

Bad book? Can't think of any yet...

-mems-

Re: -mems-

[newbia.livejournal.com]

You definitely have to read The Book Thief, it's amazing! What's The Messenger about?

-mems-

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, and how could I forget The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman? Just as lovely as IATM. Gaiman's books never fail to please. :)

-mems-

[emmaco.livejournal.com]

I've read a pile of good books over the last few months but am too lazy to list them all out. A good summery book I've read recently but haven't blogged about was Sherwood Smith's Once a Princess. Lots of swashbuckling fun, though it is really half a book - I need to go get the sequel soon.

My favourite (almost) non-fiction was Flora Thompson's three slightly fictional memoirs about her late 19th century Oxfordshire childhood in Lark Rise to Candleford. I wrote about them here (http://emmaco.livejournal.com/124987.html#cutid1) - very interesting depiction of a rapidly changing time.

[chibi-amber.livejournal.com]

Best books I've read this summer: Wicked Lovely, Ink Exchange, Fragile Eternity all by Melissa Marr. I. Am. In. Love. With. These. Stories.

Other than that.... I've been on a manga kick this summer, so I've read hundreds of manga books that I thought were fantastic.

Finished Brisingr by Christohper Paolini and was pleasantly surprised by how well done the story was compared to his first two.

[zumie-ashlen.livejournal.com]

I read a lot of manga this summer too. *laughs* Mostly Saiyuki, Get Backers, and Ouran High School Host Club. Viv is trying to get me into Skip Beat too...

[newbia.livejournal.com]

My favorite read this summer was Cyrano de Bergerac. Who knew that a 100-year-old book could be such a blast? Seriously, it was SO much fun to read. It's got comedy, romance, and drama--everything you could ask for.

[philia-fan.livejournal.com]

Ooh, one of my favorite books/plays ever. Tried to get the family to name one of the new cats Cyrano, but no go.

[inkasrain.livejournal.com]

Let me think... Among the best were two very different books: "Hunger Games", by Suzanne Collins (I think I have company there!) and a terrific book called "The Triple Bind: Saving Our Teenage Girls from Today's Pressures" by Stephen Hinshaw; it's pretty much like reading about mine and my friend's lives from a very sensitive psychological perspective. I highly recommend it.

As for the worst, not that this is a bad book by any means, but I couldn't get into "Princess Academy" by Shannon Hale. I found it pretty bland and not significantly compelling. In general I don't think I 'get' Shannon Hale, as none of her books have really grabbed me.

[appellations.livejournal.com]

We need to talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver is so far the book of my summer. Also I re-read Howl's and I'm more amazed than ever by DWJ's brilliance.

I was just thinking hey I need book recs! and I come here and then POW. I love sounis! *huggles*