What I'm Reading Monday - A Slow Down

I knew the slow down of finished books would come - and it did. This is even two weeks worth because with the screwy week at school last week, I forgot to do a post. But, this time, there won't be a ton because I forgot.

At school

The Unbecoming of Mara Dwyer by Michelle Hodkin: I am going to be starting this is during SSR today, so I don't know much about it yet. Lindsey L. told me I had to read it, so I decided I might as well. I will be doing a book talk on this one when I finish it. This is a trilogy, and I do have the second book, but the third has yet to come out.

At home

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker: This has been on my to-read list for quite a while. I'm only a little bit into it, but it is another apocalyptic novel. Unlike Life as We Knew it (talked about below), the weather and moon isn't causing the issues, instead the Earth has slowed down. Days are now 25 hours and 30-some minutes long. This creates all sorts of issues - weird daylight hours, lowered gravity, animals acting weird, etc.

Winter's Tale by Mark Halprin - In all honestly, I haven't touched this since I first talked about it.

Finished

Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer - I really liked this one. So much so that I got the next two in the series soon after (but haven't read them). It did creep me out a little because an asteroid could hit the moon or other things could greatly change our weather patterns. It made me a little more uncomfortable than some other dystopian/apocalyptic books.

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith - This was the book that I was REALLY excited about when I pre-ordered it. It sounded like it would be a great, high-interest book. There was just too much going on with it. If it had stuck with either the sci-fi storyline or the coming-of-age storyline or the apocalyptic storyline - I could have handle it. But all three was just too much.

Hostage Three by Nick Lake - Cassidy H. brought me her copy to read, and I REALLY liked it. This book follows Amy, a spoiled rich girl, on an extended yacht trip (that she wasn't excited about going on). Things go horribly wrong when they get to Somalia, though. Their yacht is taken over by Somali pirates, and her name becomes Hostage Three. The book centers around how she deals with it, and it also gives an update on her life three months after the ordeal.

Asylum by Madeleine Roux - I picked this book up because it looked a lot like Miss Peregrine, and because so many of you liked that one and are always asking me for something like it, I thought I should grab it. Besides having weird, old photos (and there really aren't that many) in it, it really isn't much like Miss Peregrine. This book is more of a thriller/murder mystery that takes place while gifted kids are at a summer camp in an abandoned asylum, which was the site of some grisly experiments.

Next up

This is a little harder this week since I've just started the two I'm reading now. But, Origin by Jessica Khoury and Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain are the front runners.

What I'm Reading Monday - Reading Frenzy

Wow. I have read a lot since the beginning of the year. I'm guessing the weather has had a lot to do with that because there's not much I want to do when it is 1 degree out. I'm guessing this pace won't keep up once it gets nicer, but we'll see.

At School

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer - This book was recommended to me by a worker at Barnes & Noble (the night of the freak blizzard when Mrs. Whisner and I were a little crazy and still went). It's the first in a series and is about a type of an apocalypse. This one takes place when a meteor hits the moon and causes everything - weather, power, TV/radio/phone signals, etc - to go haywire. I'm not far into it, but it's interesting. Right, now, it also reminds me of the time right after a hurricane. You have to pay for everything in cash, and a lot of people act like they've lost their danged minds.

At home

Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin - This is the book that the movie is based off of. I've just started it, but so far, it's focused on a thief who is trying to escape a gang he's gone against. They have a plot to make a room of gold by stealing a ship that's transporting the gold to Manhattan. Peter Lake, the thief, is determined that this won't come true.

Finished

Tiger Shrimp Tango by Tim Dorsey: Dorsey is one of my go-to "brain break" authors. None of his books take too long to read. They're funny and ridiculous. I started reading his books because they all take place in Florida. If you haven't lived in Flordia, you'd think all of what's been written in Dorsey's books is improbable; if you've lived there, you'd realize it totally is probable.

Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen - This was a magical book - not in the sense of pulling a rabbit out of the hat or casting a spell - but in the sense of returning to that one spot or memory where everything was perfect. It covers the mystical side of the South that you can only fully understand if you've seen it yourself. It's a book about finding yourself and love - romantic, friendly and personal. The only fault I had was that there were a few places where there were holes. Still a good read. This follows a woman a year after she's lost her husband; she and her daughter return to Lost Lake, which she remembers fondly from a trip when she was a teenager. However, her aunt now has plans to sell it, but Kate is fighting for anything to hold onto at this point.

The Archived by Victoria Schwab - I did a book talk on this one. This is the one where the Archive is a library of histories - or dead people. Mackenzie is tasked with being a keeper and making sure the "bad" histories don't get out into the real world. However, she also realizes that someone is trying to erase the Archive and the histories... from the inside.

Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd - I did a book talk on the first book in this series, The Madman's Daughter, a few weeks ago. This one continues the story of Juliet who returns to London but is still dealing with the fallout from her father's experiments on animals. Her inner turmoil isn't the only thing that is haunting her ... something more monstrous may have followed her home from the island of horrors.

The Red Book by Deborah Copaken Kogen - This was another brain break book. It's about Harvard's "red book," which is a newsletter of sorts that goes out to each graduating class every five years. Each member writes up a quick bio of what they're doing now. It's been 20 years since four friends (Addison, Mia, Jane and Clover) graduate from the illustrious university, and they're back for their reunion. Things haven't turned out like they originally hoped, and this follows how they all cope with that while leaning on each other.

Coming Up

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith - I have had this one pre-ordered and have been looking forward to its release for a while. It takes place in Iowa and is about the aftermath of two teen boys releasing a swarm of genetically modified praying mantises. Expect a book talk about this one soon.

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling - This I got for Christmas, and I am trying to get through the pile of books that is on my coffee table. This one is on tip, so it seems to be the logical choice.

Arranged Marriage

When I was 18, my dad tried to set me up with someone who was doing an engineering co-op between ISU and John Deere. The guy was almost 10 years older than me, but my dad was really excited about it.

He went on and on one night at dinner about what a great guy he was; he didn’t smoke, didn’t drink, and didn’t swear. My mom snorted at the last one and muttered something about me having a mouth worse than a sailor and I might be able to teach him some new vocabulary (Odd thing: I never swore around my parents in high school; I have no idea how she knew I could swear a blue streak). I never agreed to anything because the guy sounded insanely dorky. And if my dad liked him, there was probably no way I was going to even be the least bit interested in him.

He did stop by one day because he and my dad were planning on going hunting. I went out to investigate, and I tried to keep a straight face. He was a replica of my dad. There was NO way I was going to even consider this (not to mention it was a little creepy that he was 25, and I was barely an adult. When I came back inside, my mom asked me what I thought – and then immediately burst into laughter. I started muttering about him looking really dorky, and there was no chance of anything.

I don’t remember much about him, but he looked scared. I really think that he would have been slightly overwhelmed by me (my filter on what I said was even worse when I was younger - believe it or not, it worked less than it does now). It obviously was not a good fit. 

Was my dad trying to torture me? No. He was trying to make sure that I would be taken care of - this guy was guaranteed a good job and was a good person. He just wasn't right for me (at all). He made so little of an impression on me, I don't even remember his name (it may have been Shane or Shawn - for some reason, those names stick out). So, while I don't agree with the idea of arranged marriages/relationships, I understand where my dad was coming from. And really, that's where all parents during that time period were coming from - they wanted their daughters to spend the rest of their lives with someone who would be able to provide and take care of them. They didn't want them to end up starving and without a house (which was an easy possibility during that time period). By making sure they were marrying someone with a title and wealthy, they knew they'd be taken care of after they left their parent's house.

What I'm Reading Monday - A big catch up...

Mrs. Knipper has been slacking on posting this month. I'm going to blame it on the plague I had plus weather. And there's plenty to post about because I read like crazy (and I'm not sure when because I didn't read when I was sick).

At school

The Archived by Victoria Schwab - This book is an interesting concept. The archive is a library of anyone who has died - and Mackenzie is in charge of making sure the bad histories don't get out.

At home

Her Darkest Curiosity by Megan Shepherd - This is the sequel to The Madman's Daughter; I haven't actually started it yet. Based off Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Finished

Legend by Marie Wu - I did a book talk over this a few weeks ago, and since there's so many books to go over, I'm skipping this one. But, as a reminder - this is a dystopian series on two kids: one who is a military genius and one who is a killer.

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline - This is a dual narrative. The teenager is an orphan dealing with a horrible foster family situation, and for her community service, she's assigned to an older woman to clean out her attic. As she tells her story, the teen realizes her story isn't all that different from hers.

Deadly Heat by Richard Castle - This is part of the series based off the TV series Castle. The

Hollow City by Ransom Riggs - Sequel to Miss Peregrine - already did a book talk on it.

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen - I'm going to do a book talk on this one. It's about a guy who takes three servants and tries to make them into a prince. However, there's a big twist at the end.

Butter by Erin Lange - did a book talk; about the kid who wants to eat himself to death and broadcast it on the Internet

The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd - Book based off Island of Dr. Moreau; Juliet is trying to figure out who she is and how much she is like her crazy father.

Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler - Isabelle takes her hairdresser, Dorrie, on a trip to a funeral. Dorrie learns a lot about herself and race relations in the 1940s and in modern times. This is a cross between The Help and To Kill a Mockingbird