Books, books books! I cannot stop buying books. Real ones and Kindle ones. I have stacks of "to read" piles on tables and floors and for every book I finish I buy two more. (Oooo! That was rhyme-y!) It doesn't look like I will ever get successfully through my piles. My bookshelves get so full that I "unload" the non-rereaders and banish them to the upstairs. But those shelves have gotten so full that there are a couple of stacks on the stair landing that may be making a permanent home there. We'll call it scholarly decorating instead of hoarding. :) In the last couple of years I started keeping track of what I read each year. It's fun to look back and see how many I get through. I also started using Goodreads to keep track, which just encourages more books because they suggest them or I find more written by a favorite author. The monthly Kindle deals from Amazon don't help either. There are pages of new books on my Kindle and sometimes I look through them and wallow in all the wonderful books I have to read. So, here are the books I've read so far this year...
Emma by Jane Austen
This was a wonderful Austen starter book. I have watched the 2009 BBC miniseries so many times I can quote most of the lines word for word and the adaptation was so faithful to the book that reading it was like watching it again. I love all of Austen's novels but have only enjoyed them as film adaptations. I thought that this year it was time to actually read some of them. The language wasn't as hard to conquer as I remember and it kept me reading to get to my next favorite part. All in all I loved it.
Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
I tried to read this after Emma and it just felt flat. None of the characters seemed to have any depth and it had been quite a while since I'd read Beautiful Creatures. Maybe another time I'll be able to get into it, but it ended up going back on to my Kindle shelf.
The Golem and The Jinni by Helene Wecker
This book was fantastic. Every character had such a deep backstory that you wanted to hear more. She did a great job of giving her main characters plenty of time in the story but still gave you enough of the secondary characters to keep it interesting. I love how she tied up her story at the end and left it open enough to feel that the lives of the characters continued on after you closed your book. I read in the Q&A at the end of the book that she had lots of short stories that she never could develop into a whole novel and you can tell that that's how each of her characters became so multi-faceted. It's refreshing to read a book where you can tell the author loves each of the characters dearly. It made me want to start writing short stories about ideas that I have for books.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Since I'd read Emma I'd wanted badly to go back to more Austen. So of course the next obvious choice was P&P. I'd started it when I was in high school but couldn't get through the language then. When people asked why I was reading it again and I had to tell them I hadn't read it before, only watched the film and mini-series, I felt a bit embarrassed. To be into everything Austen and not read Pride and Prejudice was a sin tantamount to none other. But I can officially say I've read it! And loved it! Mr. Darcy is so much more in the books than anyone can portray. I really do love Mr. Darcy!
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
This is the book I'm currently reading and so far it's pretty awesome. I enjoy the snappy intellectual conversation between the characters, it makes me feel like I'm watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But I know a book about cancer kids can't end well so I've got the box of Kleenex ready for the end. Wish me luck...
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