What Are You Reading Today?

[Adriana]

Josiah wrote: "I'm reading First Light by Rebecca Stead. It's been slow going and probably will be for the next couple of days, though, because I have a couple of reviews to write and polish and I'm going to be m..."

Oh wow. Sharon Creech. Congrats! Well if you don't think it'll pick up you can always not read it...

[Adriana]

I'm reading:
Such a pretty cover right? I haven't been on that much because I can only muster a minute or two before my battery went dead. I finally think I fixed it so here's to hoping!
I'm also reading:

[Adriana]

Sarajayne wrote: "Adriana wrote: "Sarajayne wrote: "I finished and yesterday and I think I'll start our book of the month, ne..."

I guess I might check it out anyways but... was the female protagonist annoying... or what was her deal?
Yeah I think the book is supposed to be like Percy which is what I like about it.

[Josiah]

Adriana wrote: "Well if you don't think it'll pick up you can always not read it..."

Oh, there's nothing slow about the book. The going has been slow only because I've had a lot of writing and editing to do here on Goodreads, and the author signings that I go to invariably take out a chunk of several hours from my day when I'd normally be reading. I have every confidence that Rebecca Stead will come through in First Light, just as she did in her Newbery Medal winner, When You Reach Me.

[Adriana]

Sarajayne wrote: "Adriana wrote: "Sarajayne wrote: "Adriana wrote: "Sarajayne wrote: "I finished and yesterday and I think I'll start our book of the month,..."

Thought so. At least the guy wasn't like her. I guess the author wanted to make the guy more noble...

[Adriana]

Josiah wrote: "Adriana wrote: "Well if you don't think it'll pick up you can always not read it..."

Oh, there's nothing slow about the book. The going has been slow only because I've had a lot of writing and ed..."

Oh okay. Well that's good then. You have a good excuse to be away from the book (:

[Nathan]

I'm reading Annie on My Mind and A Study in Scarlet (my little brother has an obsession with Sherlock recently and kept bothering me to start reading! haha). Both are quite good so far, and I'm liking Annie on My Mind a lot more than I thought I would!

[Adriana]

Trevor wrote: "I'm reading Annie on My Mind and A Study in Scarlet (my little brother has an obsession with Sherlock recently and kept bothering me to start reading! haha). Both are quite good so far, and I'm lik..."

Yay! I really want to know what you think at the end of Annie On My Mind.
He doesn't have those big volumes from Barnes and Noble?

[Adriana]

Sarajayne wrote: "I'm about halfway through and it's hilarious!"

Fantastic! I pick a great book without knowing it :D

[Adriana]

That's what i thought when you said you were liking it.
I think I might start reading that or:

[Adriana]

Everyone is talking about that book!

[Nathan]

Adriana wrote: "Yay! I really want to know what you think at the end of Annie On My Mind.
He doesn't have those big volumes from Barnes and Noble?"

I finished it last night. It was okay. 3 stars. I'll post a link to my review when I write it, probably this afternoon after work. :D

We're up in Canada, so no Barnes and Noble for us! haha - he has them mostly on his e-reader, but he's been buying physical copies of them second hand as well.

[Nathan]

Finished Annie on My Mind! 3 stars | my review

Now to finish A Study in Scarlet and start The Red House Mystery.

[Adriana]

Trevor wrote: "Adriana wrote: "Yay! I really want to know what you think at the end of Annie On My Mind.
He doesn't have those big volumes from Barnes and Noble?"

I finished it last night. It was okay. 3 stars. ..."

I actually think I'll like it more. I read your review and don't really mind the middle part as much as I think you did if that. Although it's true about girls and guys being childish in high school I wonder if I won't mind how that plays out. Thanks btw!

[Adriana]

Sarajayne wrote: "Got Breathe finished last night and jumped right into . I could not put this book down! I even woke up early this morning to finish it lol. Loved it and gave..."

I think I've heard of Breathe's series name but I've never seen that book in my life. Maybe I'm thinking another book?

Thought it was going to be that fantastic. Sigh... so want it. How was Breathe though?

[Adriana]

I have made a decision and I'm reading right now and I'm liking it so far. I hope the main character shows us her wild side and I'm sure at the end of this series there will be a battle and I want to be there to read it! As long as this book doesn't deter me.

[Courtney]

next i wan to read

[Nathan]

Adriana wrote: "Trevor wrote: "I actually think I'll like it more. I read your review and don't really mind the middle part as much as I think you did if that. Although it's true about girls and guys being childish in high school I wonder if I won't mind how that plays out. Thanks btw!"

I'm probably just sensitive to that sort of thing! It definitely was NOT a big deal in this book, like it is in others. It is just a pet peeve of mine, haha.

[Adriana]

Sarajayne wrote: "Adriana wrote: "Sarajayne wrote: "Got Breathe finished last night and jumped right into . I could not put this book down! I even woke up early this morning t..."

Ew. Why does she have to ruin it with her voice...

[Adriana]

Courtney wrote: "

next i wan to read "

Oh you're reading Alice in Zombieland too?

[Courtney]

Oh you're reading Alice in Zombieland too?"

Yea. It's okay. not my favorite. wish you could give half stars. very excited about Sundial . im going to make a list of the best books ive read since I started on goodreads.

[Adriana]

No, Sarajayne is. Just look up from your first post.

What's Sundial about?

[Courtney]

Sundial from amazon:
"It is 1988 and teenager Whitney Forbes thought her biggest problem was surviving high school and determining if there was more to handsome Reid Wallace than just his looks and popularity. She was wrong. Her problems were about to get a lot more complicated.
Whitney always knew she was special. But when she discovers she is more "special" than she ever imagined, surviving another school day outside her posh D.C. suburb takes on a whole new meaning. Caught in the middle of a CIA plot and her undeniable magnetic attraction to Reid, she will need to decide who she can trust and what it means to become the Sundial...before she risks her heart and an alarming plan goes into motion. "

I just got it on my kindle. I've made a best of the month shelf on my goodreads page

[Adriana]

That. Sounds. Amazing. Lots of new government/assassin books coming up for me.

[Adriana]

Is that twelfth prophecy about different parts of the bible or something? I can only really get into modern Christian Fiction... well I've only read two so.. :P

[Adriana]

Maribel wrote: "Adriana wrote: "Is that twelfth prophecy about different parts of the bible or something? I can only really get into modern Christian Fiction... well I've only read two so.. :P"

Yeah, it's the las..."

I'll check it out (:
I finished Born Wicked myself. Genius XD
I've seen that cover around Sara. Assumed it was vampires.

[Adriana]

Huh. A zombie with feelings. Different.

[Holly]

I'm around 1/2-way through with . I'll probably start next.

[Josiah]

I'm reading The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima in anticipation of her author visit on October 30. I've never read anything of hers before, so I'm looking forward to finding out what she's like as a writer before meeting her in person.

[Adriana]

Never heard of that author Josiah.
That's why I don't read books with almost kissing or kissing covers :(
I got kind of bored of Bleach after they introduced the bouts Holly.
Reading:

[Josiah]

I hadn't heard of Cinda Williams Chima, either, before my sister noticed the name on the list of authors who would be coming to Anderson's Bookshop soon, and said she wanted to go. I'm glad Cinda Williams Chima's coming to the store put her writing on my radar, as I've found I like her storytelling style. The Warrior Heir is a good book, and I might be interested in reading the next one in the series, The Wizard Heir.

[Josiah]

I'm now reading The Chestry Oak by one of the most revered of all Newbery Medalists, Kate Seredy. There's currently no synopsis on the book's Goodreads page, so I'll write one after I've finished reading the story.

[Josiah]

I've just started on Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys. It's a book that received a lot of Newbery talk for the 2012 awards, so it'll be interesting to find out how I see it fitting into the picture once I've read it.

[Adriana]

I've heard nothing but good things about that book but I kind am very... hmmm... I haven't had anything or anyone to convince me fully yet.

I'm reading:

A favorite of mine. Re-reading it and then comparing it with:

[Adriana]

I'm reading:

Very girly which is how I like most of my books. Hopely not a vapid main character. So far she's okay.

[Josiah]

I'm finishing up Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart by Candace Fleming. After that, I'll probably begin either Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld or Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson. He's going to be at Anderson's Bookshop on January 22, and I'm really looking forward to meeting him!

[Adriana]

Need to read Leviathan. It's been on my shelf for awhile...
Is Amelia Lost any good?
Awesome :D

[Josiah]

Amelia Lost is the best nonfiction title I've read so far from 2011. It received a lot of enthusiastic praise as a top contender for the 2012 Newbery awards, and quite deservedly, in my opinion.

[Adriana]

Cool. I'm impressed with it because you liked it so much. Any other great nonfiction you've read?

Reading:

[Josiah]

Some of the best nonfiction titles I've read includes An Unspeakable Crime: The Prosecution And Persecution Of Leo Frank by the great Elaine Marie Alphin, Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice (a 2010 Newbery Honor book, and absolutely deserving of the distinction) by Phillip M. Hoose, Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow (another Newbery Honoree, for 2006) by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, The War to End All Wars: World War I by 1988 Newbery Medalist Russell Freedman, The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights, a Newbery Honor book (2005) also written by Russell Freedman, and An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793, yet another Newbery Honor recipient, by Jim Murphy.

As far as just 2011 goes, I also liked Alexander Hamilton: The Outsider by Jean Fritz.

[Adriana]

You really go for historical when you are reading nonfiction. I go for memoirs.

Hitler Youth is interesting maybe because I'm thinking of The Book Thief and Rudy.

[Josiah]

Well, I did like Knots in My Yo-Yo String by Jerry Spinelli, which is considered a memoir. Newbery Medalists Beverly Cleary, Betsy Byars and Cynthia Rylant have also written childhood memoirs. Gary Paulsen has written several memoirs and memoir-like books, all of which are categorized as J or YA literature.

[Adriana]

Okay you proved me wrong (;
Jerry Spinelli's memoir is a must read for me since he's a favorite author of mine and I see he got four stars from you so it must be fantastic.

[Josiah]

It's classic Jerry Spinelli, published during that stretch of time (approximately 1990-2001) when everything he touched turned to gold. If I had a shelf in my room just for the best of Jerry Spinelli, Knots in My Yo-Yo String would definitely be on it. (I don't, though; my books are all alphabetized by author, with the exception of the Newberys. They're ordered chronologically by original year of publication.)

[Adriana]

I want to do that! But I'm thinking is it better by chronological or color coded or I don;t know. I have a bunch of dragon ball z books and it's in a perfect spot. They are all white too so I could do the color coded. But I really have no space to organize because everything needs to be on top of each other. I have a lot of books in such a small space! I need a bigger room...

[Josiah]

Shelving by color (or size) is good for aesthetic purposes, but really not much else. I actually used to have my books shelved by size, because it makes for a much neater, more orderly and easier to contain collection; however, I chose for reasons of functionality to make the change to how I do it now. I'd rather have a personal library that's easy to access and find things in than one that just looks perfect at first glance. It can be easy even to forget that one owns a particular book if one's books aren't alphabetized by author.

As for space, that certainly is an issue. I've come to the point where if I don't really like a book from my collection after reading it, then I have to jettison it. I'm not even sure where these books will go; I like them too much to give them away, but my bedroom doesn't have the capacity to store them without becoming cluttered. So they're just sitting around and waiting...for now. I kind of have it in mind possibly to give them to my sister's baby one day, years down the line once she learns to read. Or maybe I can read them to her when she develops an interest in longer stories. What's a better introduction to the art form of the novel than Scott O'Dell, Sid Fleischman or Judy Blume?

[Nathan]

As soon as I get my own place I'm having a room dedicated to books. I swear, it needs to be done!

[Josiah]

That's probably the best way to go about it, having a room set aside to serve as one's personal library. Of course, I'd still want to have bookshelves in my room. What's a bedroom without books?

[Nathan]

Josiah wrote: "That's probably the best way to go about it, having a room set aside to serve as one's personal library. Of course, I'd still want to have bookshelves in my room. What's a bedroom without books?"

Quite true Josiah! Yes, I think I'll keep all my favorites in my bedroom, and the rest in a library sort of room. Sorted nicely by author last name/first name and title. I want a library room so bad!! haha

[Adriana]

I think it's every reader's dream to have a library in their home. I've always dreamed of having a library like Beauty and the Beast but I doubt that will happen. I will settle for one room with a computer in it.

Books in bedrooms are essential too. But I don't think I'd just have favorites. That too few for me. If you know of the vlogbrothers you see their house is filled with books everywhere and they have random piles of books everywhere. Ideally I would like that but neater. I get all cringy when I think of people especially children touching my books though so I don;t know how that would work. Not that I have anything against kids reading it's just that little ones tend not to take care for things... and I love books so... I would die if I saw one of my books manhandled.
Thinking ahead aren't you Josiah (;
I think of the same thing but my brother's aren't even married yet. They don't even want children so I will have to wait for me.
The thing is I like the hardcovers with hardcovers and paperbacks with the paperbacks. Hardcovers look more special to me.