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What I’m Reading, Twitter Style

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Written by: Kelly on May 21, 2010.

With Book Expo America only a few days away, I’m trying to work through a ton of titles before picking up a year’s worth of titles at the convention. So, here’s what I’m reading, Twitter-style.


Spoken From the Heart by Laura Bush: LB was a librarian before first wife. A bit repetitive and lengthy, but readable and fascinating. Sittenfeld’s book was dead on accurate.

Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly: Debut title about a girl with autism & her obsession with music. Fluid, fascinating, & very authentic to the teenage voice. My 20th debut!

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce: Werewolves are my vampires. Interesting premise with a spin off of Little Red Riding Hood. I’m hot-cold on fairy tales, so here’s hoping.


A Thousand Sisters by Lisa Shannon: Non-fiction exploration of the most dangerous & most unfriendly places to be a woman. Not a memoir fan, but premise was too good to skip.


Goldengrove by Francine Prose: Listening to in the car – an adult fiction story about adolescence and growing up from an author who generally writes YA fic.

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa: This title has exploded in the blogosphere and has piqued my interest, despite being a non-fantasy reader. Kagawa is a debut author.


Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker: Fascinating premise of small-town life & being an outsider within ones community. A bit of magical realism thrown in for this book club fav.

So what are YOU reading?

Comments

  1. I am desperately trying to finish THE RED PYRAMID by Rick Riordan before we leave! It's 500+ pages, so too heavy to take on the plane and I have a feeling that if I don't finish it before BEA, I'll never go back to it!!

    I'm seeing Julie Kagawa at a signing tomorrow and I think I'll pick up that book while I'm there – I've heard great things about it!

What I’m Reading, Twitter Style

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Written by: Kelly on April 27, 2010.

Gimme Shelter by Mary Elizabeth Williams: Non-Fiction story of finding the perfect house to buy, things never work out right & places are never what they seem. Totally up my alley.

Blankets by Craig Thompson: Another one of those books I’ve never read & KNOW I should. A “classic” to the graphic novel world that, too, has seen its share of critics.

Scars by C. A. Rainfield: Colleague told me to buy and read ASAP as our holds lists for this title have been growing steadily. Realistic fiction about sexual abuse.

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen: A Dessen not read yet, but falls on an awards list. As the title suggested, I’m listening to the audio of this one & hope stronger than AFtR.


Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson: Debut title follows Amy & her mother’s friend’s son Roger (her age) as they hit the road. Told in more than traditional narrative, looks fun.

Comments

What I’m Reading – Twitter Style

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Written by: Kelly on March 5, 2010.

Welcome to what I’m reading, Twitter-style. Here’s a quick glance of what I’ve got a book mark in or have at the top of the pile for when I’ve got a book mark to put somewhere.

War Dances/Sherman Alexie: Alexie’s a favorite – audio is narrated by author, hope it’ll add a huge element to these short stories. New format for my listening needs.

Epitaph Road/David Patneaude: Post-apocalyptic thriller by debut ya author with interesting premise. Mixed reviews in blogosphere but hoping for unique dystopian take.

Government Girl/Stacy Parker Aab: Non-fiction memoir of an intern during the Clinton administration. She sounds kind of irritating herself, but the politics sound fascinating.

Dark Life/Kat Falls: Another debut author, another dystopia. Abby promises a thrilling & memorable read, and w/setting under water, I am 100% sold on this one!


Zeitoun/Dave Eggers: Non-fiction story of man who stayed in New Orleans during Katrina. Great story, characters but audio quality horrific, muffled, unpolished.

Shadow Hills/Anastasia Hopcus: Girl starts new school, meets mysteriously attractive new boy and falls in love. Sound familiar and overdone? Cliche and disappointing read.

It’s Not Summer Without You/Jenny Han: Second “Summer I Turned Pretty.” Lest you worry, I eat up sweet romances. Hope this sequel is as good as first. Perfect for spring/summer!

What I’m Reading, Twitter Style.

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Written by: Kelly on January 18, 2010.

I’ve been busy – between moving and reading for Cybils, my personal reading has been a little everywhere (and a little spare). But here’s what I’m reading or have recently read, Twitter-style!


Wish / Alexandra Bullen: Disappointing fairy tale w/ predictable plot, uninteresting characters, & off-putting writing style. Cannot believe there’s a sequel coming.

Leaving Gee’s Bend / Irene Latham: Historical fiction set during 1930s w/o being about the Depression. Engaging & one that will be considered a “best” in 2010. Low teen appeal.

The Happiness Project / Gretchen Ruben: Eager for perspective on happiness. Think this year-in-my-life may be valuable guide, rich w/insight w/o preachiness. Husband loved it.

Along for the Ride / Sarah Dessen: Audio book has some voice & volume inconsistencies, but the story is engaging enough, though predictable & same as rest of Dessen’s oeuvre.

Searching for Whitopia / Rich Benjamin: Unscientific but interesting non-fiction about what quality makes a community feel “safe” and “special.” Black author on whiteness = unique.

Travels with Charley / John Steinbeck: Professing the love of one’s country w/ trip through it. Highly entertaining, beautiful descriptions. I underlined many passages for memory.

Comments

  1. Nice snippets, I liked this. I am the irritable anonymous commenter from the awards page. I enjoyed Travels with Charley, too, and underlined.

What I’m reading, Twitter style (alternatively: Lest you say I only read YA)

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Written by: Kelly on November 30, 2009.

Maybe there’s a hidden theme here, but I suspect it’s a matter of finding a ton of really interesting things to read in succession. Without further ado:

Our Lot by Alyssa Katz: Even-handed history and exploration of real estate and mortgage lending in the U.S. Readable and terrifying and utterly necessary reading.

Generation A by Douglas Coupland: Coupland’s last few titles have been flops for me. This title revisits themes of “Gen X,” but w/ the millennial generation. Fingers crossed.

Back Home by Julia Keller: Father returns home from Iraq War completely different – this is a story of a daughter coping with that change. Keller is an expert on topic.

In Cheap We Trust: The Story of a Misunderstood American Virtue by Lauren Weber: History and social commentary on thriftiness as “American.” Delves into why we are cheap but why we are afraid to admit to it.

Ayn Rand and the World She Made by Anne C. Heller: New biography of Rand that’s gotten a fair amount of both positive and negative press. Likely contrast to current biogs by her institutions.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman: On audio: I’m behind in my listening, but this title, narrated by Gaiman himself, should be a winner. Excited to listen then watch the film.

What I’m reading, Twitter style

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Written by: Kelly on October 14, 2009.

…to be fair, it’s more like a few of what I’ve read and a few of what I’m reading.


Crank: On audio – Kristina’s deep decent into meth use. Powerful & terrifying yet gripping listen. Will turn anyone off to thought of using drugs.


Feed: All in society born with feeds telling them how to live, act, buy. Feeds get hacked. Who will survive? May make you cry. BEST AUDIOBOOK EVER.

Someone Named Eva: World War II story. Czech-born Milada taken to reprogramming camp & adopted to German family. Becomes Eve. Terrifying based-on-truth story.

An Off Year: What happens when you turn around and decide not to go to college? A lot of nothing, in this case. Book about nothing but still interesting.

A Great and Terrible Beauty: Slow moving with little action and not yet compelling enough to begin my 4th audio disc. Seems like so many other books & not that exciting.

Her Fearful Symmetry: No candle to author’s prior works. Poor editing & writing style. Story of twins & too much happenstance. Can’t tell story on chances alone.

Comments

  1. Oh, no. I've got "Her Fearful Symmetry" on my pile…I'm so sad to hear that it's not so good.

    But I do love this feature. Great way to talk about a lot of books.

  2. Ahhh, I should make clear I'm only about 100 pages in. I don't think "Her Fearful Symmetry" is awful. It's just got poor writing/editing (overuse of semicolons drives me NUTS) and the story's not as compelling as her others. I'm hoping it gets better!