Archive for December, 2011

« Older Entries  |  
December 31, 2011

2011 Reading Wrap-Up: By the Numbers

Once again, it’s been quite a year. I became an Advanced Ninja. I went to Italy. And Baltimore. I hiked Half Dome. I started sewing and crafting for reals. I ran two 5ks and rode my bike in a triathlon. I am still dating the same swell boy from last year. And I read 109 books (which blows my former most-books-read-in-a-year total out of the water). Here’s how my year of reading went, compared to my 2010 totals (in parentheses).

Total Books Read: 109 (87)

Total Pages Read: 36,469 (29,020)

Fiction / Non-fiction: 77 / 32 (59 / 28)

New authors: 61 (53)

Previously read authors: 48 (15)

Audio books: 42 (25)

Books by Year Published:
1700s: 0 (1)
1800s: 2 (4)
1900 – 1950: 11 (8)
1951– 2000: 19 (14)
2001: 1 (0)
2002: 1 (1)
2003: 2 (3)
2004: 2 (3)
2005: 5 (2)
2006: 5 (3)
2007: 5 (2)
2008: 7 (12)
2009: 9 (17)
2010: 14 (17)
2011: 26 (0)

Most books by the same author: 6, CS Lewis (4, Ted Dekker)

Most books in one month: 13, February (11, February)

Fewest books in one month: 4, December (4, May)

Books read for a book club or Bible study: 18 (7)

Review copies: 19 (13)

What did your 2011 look like? Link to your post in the comments — I love reading these yearly reading wrap-ups!

Posted in Books + Media | 6 Comments »

Tags: ,
December 31, 2011

Book Review: #108 – The Death Cure by James Dashner

The Death Cure by James Dashner (Book #3 in the Maze Runner Trilogy)

Narrator: Mark Deakins
Source: Sacramento Library
Finished: 12/17/11
Rating: 6 out of 10
Publisher: Delacorte
Pages: 336
Published: 2011

Synopsis (from VOYA): After surviving the maze and scorch trials, Thomas is again forced to confront his beliefs regarding the “cure” that WICKED claims to have within their grasp. Without understanding his importance to the cure and subsequent survival of the human race, he defies the government organization at every turn while trying to determine along the way who is friend and who is foe. As his list of friends grows smaller, Thomas relies on survival instincts to help him last just one more day in a world gone amuck with madness. 

* * * mild spoiler alert * * *

Overall Impression: This whole series had been strange for me. I’ve really liked the concepts and ideas Dashner created — but I think a lot was lacking in the execution department. Out of the three, this one was my least favorite, mostly because there were so many loose ends. (Thomas never gets back his memories, for example. And “WICKED is good?” Nothing ever explains that fully.) Again, the concept was decent, wrapping up the series in a way that felt fairly true to the story, but it fell flat in terms of the writing and the overall plot and character development. Several of the characters, for instance, felt dispatched of without much ceremony. Which may have been Dashner’s point, but it still left me feeling empty.

That being said, there are some very interesting ethical choices that Thomas has to face in this book (in the entire series, actually) that would make it an interesting book to discuss in a group. I also enjoyed the way the plot twisted and turned — I truly never knew where Dashner was going and I was usually pleasantly surprised, even if I did wish things were fleshed out a little more. If you’re a fan of YA dystopian, give this one a shot. If you’re on the fence, you might want to skip it — there are better series out there.

Positives: An original concept that kept me guessing throughout all three books.

Negatives: Flawed execution in the writing and development.

Narration: Mark Deakins does a perfectly serviceable job with this series. Not stellar, but better than others.

Other books I’ve read by James Dashner: The Maze Runner (review) and The Scorch Trials (review)

Other blogger opinions:

S. Krishna’s Books: “The Death Cure didn’t quite live up to the incredible story that was The Maze Runner, but it was a satisfying conclusion to an exciting series.”

That’s What She Read: “As much as I loved the first two books, I cannot help but feel slightly disappointed with this last novel and the overall series.”

Posted in Books + Media | 1 Comment »

Tags: , , , , ,
December 30, 2011

2011 End Of Year Book Survey!

The Perpetual Page-Turner has a wonderful year-end book survey up on her blog. I’ll post my reading wrap-up as well, but I thought her questions were a perfect way of seeing what I thought was great (and not so great) in 2011!

But let’s be real – I don’t read a ton of brand new releases. So a lot of these are older books. Hope you find something to add to your TBR list!

1. Best book: 
Fiction: The Great Divorce by CS Lewis (review)
Nonfiction: One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp (review)

2. Most disappointing book:
Fiction: Naomi & Ely’s No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (review)
Nonfiction: The Jesus Inquest by Charles Foster (review)

3. Most surprising (in a good way!)?
Fiction: Life of Pi by Yann Martell (review)
Nonfiction: House of Prayer No. 2 by Mark Richard (review)

4. Book you recommended to people most?
Fiction: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (review)
Nonfiction: One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp (review)

5. Best series you discovered?
The Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin (review)

6. Favorite new authors you discovered?
Fiction: Ernest Cline, Ransom Riggs, George RR Martin
Nonfiction: Ann Voskamp, Carl Medearis, Julie Clawson

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?
Fiction: The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus by Sonia Sones (review)
Nonfiction: House of Prayer No. 2 by Mark Richard (review)

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book?
Fiction: The Girl Who Played with Fire (review) and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (review) by Stieg Larsson
Nonfiction: Passport Through Darkness by Kimberly Smith (review)

9. Book you most anticipated?
Fiction: Doc by Mary Doria Russell (review)
Nonfiction:  Love Wins by Rob Bell (review)

10. Favorite book cover?
Fiction: Vaclav and Lena by Haley Tanner (review)
Nonfiction: House of Prayer No. 2 by Mark Richard (review)

11. Most memorable character?
Jack from Room by Emma Donoghue (review) and Doc Holiday from Doc by Mary Doria Russell (review)

12. Most beautifully written book?
Fiction: Doc by Mary Doria Russell (review)
Nonfiction: House of Prayer No. 2 by Mark Richard (review)

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you?
One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp (review)

14. Book you can’t believe you waited until 2011 to finally read? 
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (review)

15. Favorite Passage/Quote from a book you read? 
“Being in a hurry. Getting to the next thing without fully entering the thing in front of me. I cannot think of a single advantage I’ve ever gained from being in a hurry. But a thousand broken and missed things, tens of thousands, lie in the wake of all the rushing…. Through all that haste I thought I was making up time. It turns out I was throwing it away.” from One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp (review)

16. Book that you read in 2011 that you might reread in 2012?
I probably won’t reread anything – I usually give it a few years between rereads.

17. Book that had a scene in it that had you reeling and dying to talk to somebody about it?
A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin (holy crap, right?) (review)

How did your 2011 reading stack up? What did you love? What did you hate? If you end up doing a year-end review, let me know in the comments — I’d love to see how your 2011 went!

Posted in Books + Media | 7 Comments »

Tags: ,
December 29, 2011

2012 Book Challenges

What am I getting myself into?

I’ve decided to tackle a couple year-long reading challenges in 2012, mostly because I had such success with Michelle’s Read My Own Books Month in September and my Finish It Up challenge in November — I loved having a goal (I’m an accomplishment junkie). So, for the first time in five years of blogging, I’m taking on a few year-long reading challenges. Hopefully, more than anything, these challenges will help me work through more of my massive TBR shelf.

I haven’t decided what books I’ll read for these challenges yet, but my lists will be posted under the Books > Challenges portion of my blog.

Back to the Classics, hosted by Sara Reads Too Much

- A 19th century classic
- A 20th century classic
- Reread a classic of your choice
- A classic play
- A classic mystery / horror / crime
- A classic romance
- A classic that has been translated from its original language to your language
- A classic award winner
- A classic set in a country you will not visit during your lifetime.

 

* * *

2012 Audio Book Challenge, hosted by Teresa’s Reading Corner

I’ve decided to tackle the “Lover” level of this challenge, which is to listen to at least 25 audio books next year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

What’s in a Name, hosted by Beth Fish Reads

- A book with a topographical feature in the title
- A book with something you’d see in the sky in the title
- A book with a creepy crawly in the title
- A book with a type of house in the title
- A book with something you’d carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title
- A book with something you’d find on a calendar in the title

 

 

 

* * *

2012 TBR Pile Challenge, hosted by Mission to Read

I’m going to attempt to tackle the “Love at First Sight” level of this challenge — a whopping 31 – 40 books off my TBR shelf.

Posted in Books + Media | 6 Comments »

Tags:
December 28, 2011

Felt Christmas Wreath

Whew! The holidays are coming to an end. Which means I’ve given my gifts and now I can blog about them! This year, I wanted to make my mom something. Her old front door wreath was really cute — a plethora of Christmas ornaments (much like this). But after a few years of falling off the front door several times, it was looking a little worse for wear. Most of the ornaments had been hot-glued and re-hot-glued a dozen times. So I thought I’d make her something new to festive-up her front door.

Pinterest to the rescue! I found this cute wreath and thought, “I could make that.” So I did. Felt flowers are ridiculously easy to make (there’s a nice tutorial here, though I made mine rolling from the outside of the spiral in, instead of the inside out.) Plus, craft felt is $.34 a sheet — and I could make several flowers out of each sheet. I added the pearls for embellishment and was totally pleased with the result!

Posted in Sewing + Crafts | 8 Comments »

Tags: , , , ,
« Older Entries  |  
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 784 other followers