I am sad that I didn't stay up with my reading log last year. I got busy, then forgot, and then was so far behind that I never did it again. So here's to doing a better job this year. I really like keeping track of what I read, it's fun to be able to look back and see exactly when I read something and what my feelings were about it then.
I am Number Four
Pittacus Lore
448 pages
I loved this book. I bought it because it sounded interesting, then I saw that they were making a movie of it and the preview looked great. I went ahead and started reading it then and really enjoyed it. The book is about a teenager who lives here on Earth and does his best to blend in. He is however from the planet Lorien that has been destroyed by the Mogadorians. The Loric people develop legacies (powers) when they are adolescents. Nine children and their helpers were sent to Earth to grow and develop their legacies and hopefully be able to protect themselves until they can return to Lorien and revive the planet.
I am not doing the story enough justice, it was really good and if you are up for a great story, give it a shot.
Hunger: A Gone Novel
Michael Grant
608
This is the second novel in the Gone series. The kids in the town are faced with the ever growing problem of the hunger and the lack of resourses. They are also still fighting with the Coats kids and the darkness.
The story was very engaging and I really felt like I was in the town with them. The author has done a great job and I am looking forward to the series continuing.
Matched
Ally Condie
384
This was another excellent book this month. This is a typical distopian world story set in the not too distant future. Here all people are matched with someone who will be their perfect match, both to produce great DNA and to create a happy life together. Our protagonist is given her match of someone that she will do great with, but she is then given a breif glimpse of someone else and she wonders what would happen with the other boy.
Pathfinder
Orson Scott Card
672
Card is a masterful storyteller and has once again woven a tale of wonder, exploration and fun. This is the story of Rigg who is able to see the paths that everyone has ever taken. When his father dies he is given the task of finding his sister, that he didn't know he had, and finding out who he is. The story is great and my detail leaves too much out, but know that the story is worth reading. It does start out a bit slow, but once you are in the story it is hard to put it down.
The Confession
John Grisham
432
Grisham is also a wonderful story teller and can really get the reader to care about the characters and the story that he is presenting. This book is very good and the story is very engaging. If you are a fan of legal thrillers, this will not disappoint.
With that said however, I had one major problem with this book. The story is of a girl who was presumably murdered and the wrongful conviction of another boy. The murder takes place in the fall of 1998, now I remember 1998 very well. They characters were seniors in high school then, just as I was. What bothered me about the story was the use of cell phones and texting. In '98 a regular middle class kid did not have a cell phone. I cannot think of anyone that I knew that had a cell phone then. We did all have pagers, but not phones. Also texting, while it was available in '98 it was not used by many as it was still very expensive and not widely available. Now I know this is just fiction, but when a story wants you to believe it, the author has to get the little things right in order for you to accept everything else. I love a good sci-fi story and can accept any manner of space travel, teleportation, wormholes, etc., but if the author messes up the simple details it can ruin a story. This is not to say that the story was ruined, but it did take me out of the story every time the phone and texting records were used as a basis.
384
Kate Jacobs
I have mixed feelings about this book. While the story was interesting and the idea of how women form friendships was intriguing, I cannot recommended this book. The language in it was very crude.
Witch & Wizard
336
James Patterson
This is the first book in a series about two kids who discover themselves to be a witch and a wizard in the New Order, only the New Order has declared them evil and they must be destroyed. The story was a bit slow, but it was a good book overall.
Behemoth
200 (partial)
Scott Westerfield
This is the second in Westerfields steam punk series. The book is good, and while I enjoy reading it while I am reading it, I have no desire to pick it up when I am not reading it. The story still centers on Alek and Devyn and Alek's need to be kept safe and to escape and Devyn to keep her secret.
Total Pages for January: 3464
Total for 2011: 3464
