Happy August! Well, I'm starting to think those people who thought I was crazy for trying to read 50 books this year may be right. At the end of August, I'm at 24 books read. A little behind, but I swear August is going to be my month! I'm traveling this upcoming week, which always means I get reading done. I'm declaring, right here, right now that I'll have AT LEAST six books read in August (gulp).
I also recently came across "FiftyFiftyMe" on Twitter, where other people have promised to read 50 books and watch 50 movies this year. I'm pretty sure I'll see 50 movies this year, but I may also see 50 concerts! As anybody who follows me on Twitter and Facebook knows, I like me some concerts. I decided to keep track and counting tonight's Miniature Tigers concert, I'll have been to 23 shows so far. I've got two more this month and five planned, so far, in September. So we shall see!
But now to the matter at hand - my July reads! I wanted July to be the month of reading fall ARCs. Um, well, I read two. But hey, better than none, and I REALLY loved those books. So here they are, my July reads (click on the title for details on the book since I've realized I'm horrible with synopsis).
EVERY DAY by David Levithan (coming August 28, 2012)
Full disclosure: David is not only one of my closest friends, he's also my editor. I've been eagerly awaiting this novel since I heard about its premise: "A" wakes up every day in a different body, then he falls in love with a girl, and everything changes. I gobbled up this book in one sitting. I was in turns mesmerized by how the story unfolded, not knowing what the future held for A (but then again, neither did A), and my conflicting emotions about what would be best for all involved. Um, I don't want to say too much, so I'll just stop there and simply say that this is my favorite book of David's - and that's saying A LOT! And there's been so much buzz about it, if it isn't on your to-read list for fall it should be!
THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST by Emily M. Danforth
This was my book group's July read. And it's really hard to talk about this book without giving anything away. I discovered this at book group when only two of us had finished the book (it's nearly 500 pages long - I so think I should get credit for two books!). I will say that the book was beautifully written - I'll fully admit that I'm not a great writer in terms of description, and Danforth is a great descriptive writer.
THE SHADOW SOCIETY by Marie Rutkoski (coming October 16, 2012)
I want to preface my review by saying that counting Every Day, I have only read four books this year that could be counted as either fantasy or science fiction. What usually happens is this: I hear about great fantasy or sci-fi books then drag my heels to read it. When I finally sit down to read, I love it! You'd think I would learn by now that I like all kinds of books and stop being unadventurous!
That being said, I was super excited about Marie's book because I adore Marie (oh look, I'm name dropping again, as I do). I was hooked on this book from its first sentence. It read like a contemporary adventure book with plenty of romance (CUTE BOY ALERT!) and humor (some awesome banter and hilarious human friends). Oh, and it just so happens that there is an alternate universe. The details and layers of this book were so impressive from a storytelling perspective and it's such a fun, enjoyable read (I read it in two days). It's really accessible to those of us who just don't think they can "get" into fantasy. And like Every Day, this book really made me think about the choices we make and decisions that define us. So you'll definitely want to add this to your fall reading list as well! (I know! TWO fantasy-ish book recommendations from me - who knew?!?!?)
Oh, and clearly the cover in the above photo was just for the ARC. I love the final cover:
So that's July! Hope everybody is enjoying their summer! Now I'm off to finish reading Jennifer Weiner's The Next Best Thing - I told you August is going to be my month!
XOXO, Elizabeth