Book Clubs Are Ruining My Reading Habit

We all know I love to read. But I have a confession: book clubs are ruining my reading habit. Earlier this year, I joined the Brew Pub Book Club in an attempt to meet some new folks. I figured, hey, people who like beer and books? These seem like my people!


Then, not long after Brew Pub Book Club got started, a "book club" I was in last summer (read, a group of great girls who spent about five minutes talking about the book and two hours 55 minutes drinking wine and not talking about the book) re-launched, this time bound and determined to actuallly read the books.


And so it began... trying to read two (regretably non-YA fantasty) books each month, by a deadline. And it makes me feel like I'm in school. And I didn't like school. And I actually feel both stressed and guilty at not finishing my book club books. And I'm WAY behind on my YA reading.


Book clubs are ruining my reading habit. Well, book clubs, and crappy reality television that sucks me in.


On the flipside, though, I've gotten the chance to read some books I never would have picked up before. Like Chelsea Handler's My Horizontal Life. Hilarious. And the critically acclaimed Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCaan. An excellent, beautifully written, compelling book. But also, probably the reason I still haven't finished A Conspiracy of Kings by my dear Megan Whalen Turner. And the reason that when the much anticipated Mocking Jay and Clockwork Angel arrived from Amazon this week, I looked at them with a sense of sadness and regret. Soon, my lovelies. Soon, I promise my reading habit will stop ruining my reading habit.

Seriously? SERIOUSLY!?!

First, I'm sorry. I know, I know... I haven't written since APRIL!?!?! A travesty!

And rest assured, I have actually been reading during that time. Sort-of. I've actually been rather swamped, but I've been trying to keep up on books (and life) by reading in the car... well, listening to books on tape.

So let me tell you a tale of three trilogies.

Remember that fantastic secret book I mentioned in my last blog? Well, I have received confirmation the bestie has received his b-day present, so cat's out of the bag. It's called the Stoneheart Trilogy by Charlie Fletcher, read by the fablous Uncle Jim (Dale). And they're lovely! I've gotten through the first two, Stoneheart and Ironhand, and the turns of phrase are absolutely fantastic... they remind me of the aussie bestie I sent it to, actually, which is maybe why I liked these books so much. They are such absolute delight! Read them.

The other two trilogies are both ones I struggled to get through my first time reading them. Oh, and I don't think they're actually trilogies, but I just liked the way "a tale of three trilogies" sounded. Foundling, is the first book of the Monster Blood Tattoo series. I really struggled to get into this gift from my aussie bestie, as the author is Australian and the book was recognized as a Children's Book Council of Australia Short-List Book. Alas, I still just couldn't do it! But listening to it? Now, there's the ticket! Narrator Humphrey Bower did an AWESOME job with the characters, at times making this feel like a full-cast recording, and making the strange and challenging vocabular unique to the MBT world flow, perhaps part of my challenge in first reading it. I'm very excited for the next book in this series, Lamplighter, which was released in 2008, with no news on a third book...

And the last of my fabulous listenings were The Immortal Life of Nicholas Flamel books. I also struggled to get into The Alchemyst, the first of the Flamel books, but after BF tore through the first two I decided to give them another go. Again, audiobooks FTW! Narrator Denis O'Hare does a solid job of narrating this one, though this was my least favorite of the faux trilogy tales.

My book pile has grown to overwhelming heights, and the two new book clubs I've joined have added to the reading obligations, but that's another tale for another blog post.

Secret Lover...

For a few weeks now, I have been dying... DYING to tell you about an awesome wonderful amazing book I listened to on CD, and a new release I can't wait to read. But since I bought the CD book for my bestie in Australia's birthday and haven't shipped it yet (sorry Dan), I still can't tell you about it or I'll ruin the surprise! But secret love #2 is out of the closet: Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner is OUT! I was supposed to keep it quiet so buddy Jess could buy it for her hubby Dan, but since it came out March 23, I feel like there's been enough of a grace period I can safely say -- in blogosphere psuedo public -- I'm so friggin excited to read this book! As anyone who's read any of my MWT related blog posts can attest (like this, or this), I LOVE THESE BOOKS.

Further proof I'm a total geek: this series leaves me starstruck. A few weeks ago I actually introduced myself to my YA bookstore goth girl like a total dweeb... "I'm Kate... I love your book recs." And then she told me she blogs too! And she got an ARC (that's totally I'm-cool-I-know-things book lingo for Advanced Reader Copy) and wrote about Conspiracy of Kings already! Squee!

As she puts it, "I rediscovered my longstanding, abiding love for Megan Whalen Turner’s Queen’s Thief series, rereading the three previous books leading up to the newly released A Conspiracy of Kings. I am simply amazed that her books have stood up to second (and even third) reads. The new book is not something to scoff at either. Gorgeous and wonderful it was and I can’t wait to reread it before the fifth book comes out in the series… here that, Turner… I demand a fifth book! Post haste."

My experience of meeting Krys (I know her name from the little paper slips in the YA section... which makes me feel a little like a stalker) also brought out the geekiest of geeky actions. Upon telling me about her blog, I blurted out, "Jeff Woodman commented on my blog!" In case you haven't heard yet, Jeff Woodman commented on my blog! And even if it was just my bf pretending to make my day (week, month, year, and quite possibly, decade!) it worked. Because Jeff Woodman commented on my blog! But more importantly, Jeff Woodman was a (literary) rock star and improved and enhanced my Attolia books.

So I've been pretty friggin excited for Conspiracy of Kings to hit the shelves, and in anticipation I started re-reading The Thief, of course loving it, and having a rather deja vu experience. You see, in anticipation of Kristin Cashore's sophomore novel Fire last year, I reread Graceling... another of the "books you must read" and simultaneously listened to Woodman's/Whalen Turner's Attolia books. Now, the tables have turned with a fun and delightful full cast recording of Graceling, while reading The Thief. Life doesn't get much better than this.

Tee hee...

I recently came across a ridiculous little parody called, "Nightlight," published by The Harvard Lampoon.

With preposterous passages such as:

About three things I was absolutely certain.

First, Edwart was most likely my soul mate, maybe.

Second, there was a vampire part of him--which I assumed was wildly out of control--that wanted me dead.

And third, I unconditionally, irrevocably, impenetrably, heterogeneously, gynecologically, and disreputably wished he had kissed me.

Nightlight may not be worth it's $13.95 price tag, but is certainly good for reading a few passages and getting a few chuckles standing in the bookstore!

Lend Me Your Ears

When I first started this blog, I made a list for my fellow geeks -- ahem, I mean, bookworms -- of the must-read young adult books and series.

But as you've read, I also hold a special place in my heart for audio books. Maybe it stemmed from my love of NPR, first established during college. Maybe it was a result of my 45-minute commute to work when I lived in BFE. I can't really say where or why it started, but for the better part of a decade now, I've loved books on CD (and back when my car actually had a tape player, that vintage technology). And so, allow me to share with you my list of must-listen audio books.

Top Audio Books You Must Enjoy:
The His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman aka The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, Narrated by a Full Cast: This is far and away the best audio book series out there, compliments of its full cast and narration by the author himself. It's just so phenomenal to listen to an engaging story (a stop on my must-read list) delivered by a full cast of talented actors. As if it's possible to adore Iorek Byrnison or Lee Scorsby more, the actors give such life and heart to the roles of these classic novels, I'm motivated to visit the library and listen to the full series at least once every couple of years.

The Harry Potter Books by J. K. Rowling, Narrated by Jim Dale: Do I really need to say more? I mean, it's Jim Dale! He was the Pushing Daisies voice-over guy! And in all honesty, while at times I find myself not-so-much adoring his interpretations of Hermione as a whiny prat, he's still an icon. Frankly, you've got to give the guy kudos for reading 99 discs worth of boy wizard shenanigans. So at least give him a shot on one of the HPs, and see why he's now known as "Uncle Jim" in my house.

The Looking Glass Wars Books by Frank Beddor, Narrated by Gerard Doyle: Ooh, Doyle's fabulous! I think these books are actually better as audio books courtesy of the neat effects on voices that really bring Wonderland to life without overdoing it. The Looking Glass Wars are a trilogy (though there are rumors of a fourth book on the way) re-telling of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in which Wonderland is a high-tech monarchy in the midst of a tragic coup and civil war during which young Alyss Hart must re-claim the throne from her black imagination wielding Aunt Redd, unrightful and unruly Queen of the Hart Dynasty. The audio book creates a spooky Looking Glass Maze, Beatles-esque giant caterpillar oracles, and my favorite, General Doppelganger (or when he splits into his twin forms, Generals Doppel and Ganger) whose double and single voices are just friggin cool. Definitely listen to this series, whose third book was just released and I was lucky enough to snag the first audio book copy from CADL. Honestly, the slightly anti-climatic wrap-up to the supposed trilogy, Arch Enemy, left me slightly disappointed with an all-too-convenient, and all-too-anticlimactic, ending that tied up the plots with a nice little bow (save King Arch, leaving the trilogy open to be continued). Book three all but ignored my favorite aspect of the first two books -- the relationship between Alyss and one of my favorite literary characters of all time, Dodge Anders -- so I sadly believe this much anticipated book knocked the series off my must-read list, but certainly didn't find itself in The-Book-That-Must-Not-Be-Named territory. Still worth a listen!

The Thief, The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner, Narrated by Jeff Woodman: Jeff Woodman, how I love thee? Let me count the ways. One, The Thief. Two, The Queen of Attolia. Three, The King of Attolia.

Oh my oh my oh my (note, Woodman earned himself a whole new paragraph here). These are my favorite books of all time. I love them. They pulled me out of both Book 7 and Twilight mourning (for which I now feel rather foolish). I so heartily associated with Attolia it sorta kinda a little bit hurt. And I adore Gen, the lovable wise-cracking protagonist. And I love the writing. And I love the plot twists. And I love... well, you get it. So I was scared these audio books could never do my darling books justice. That they would make a mockery of my beloveds. And that they could never isolate the playful cover-up of mastermind Gen's scheming. Never nail the steely reserve and calm covering Attolia's fear and loneliness.

But Jeff Woodman, dear Jeff Woodman. I should have had faith. In full disclosure, I was only able to listen to the Queen and King, as The Thief (released in 1997) is only available on tape. But those two, boy did they deliver. He just got it. Every character had genuine authentic distinctions. I was never confused as to who was speaking (a common occurrence in audio books) and would completely forget there was even a narrator to be had, so skillfully does he weave his character dialogues.

And then there were the pauses. Long enough to border on frustrating without quite getting there, and giving you enough time to take a deep breathe after a major revelation and think, "Damn. That was good." I felt like I needed a smoke after some of the chapters revealing unexpected twists in the complicated and delicious political plot of monarchs, war, love, rank and fate. Lend me your ears for a little Jeff Woodman. You will not be disappointed.

The Good, The Bad, and The Fugly

Have been getting a lot of good reading in... finally am reminded of why I love geeky books so much. So allow me to tell you the tales of my most recent reads... the good... the bad... and the fugly.

I started with Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. What a lovely little book. That's the best description I can come up with. It was engaging, but I was still able to put it down at night and go to bed (for which I was greatful at 7 a.m.). It was interesting, but not overly dramatic and climatic. It had a love story, but wasn't too mushy sappy Twilight gross. It was just lovely. I wouldn't change a thing about this light wolfy read.

And then I got to the bad. And OH! Was it bad. I don't even know why I bothered to keep reading: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. I am struggling to even begin telling you all the reasons I couldn't stand this book. For starters, it was effing terrifying and gave me nightmares. I would be reading at night and think, "In just one more chapter, it won't be terrifying anymore and I can go to bed," but nope, still terrifying! I actually slept with my lights on one night (and may or may not have let my dog sleep on the bed to keep me safe from zombies). I think I was partially determined to finish it simply because there were no "safe" places to stop. Creepy gross fugly zombie things are not friggin cool, people!

And then, there was the craptastic plot. A relatively unlikeable heroine was about the only person to live. Many of the characters were jerks and the only semi-likeable one gets eaten sacrificing himself for the selfish unlikeable heroine. And then, at the end, you realize all of the significant things you expected to come together in some meaningful interesting key way... nope, they don't connect at all. In fact, even though they were made out like a big deal, they really hold NO significance. And the last pages?!?! Oh, yeah, that's where she finally "makes it" out of the forest only to find, there are zombies everywhere. Not really shocking, right? Yeah, except everywhere else, they're just like, "Yeah, they're man-eating zombies, but we just kill them with shovels. No biggie." The end.

WTF?!?

And then, we surpassed any good, bad, or fugly with The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima. This book reminded my why I absolutely love this genre. It's got it all -- great plot, fun twists, loveable characters, horrible villains, magic mystics and even a little political intrigue thrown in just for laughs (a personal favorite of mine). I truly couldn't put it down. And I already Googled it and am ecstatic to learn book two in the Seven Realms series, The Exiled Queen, is slated for release this fall. Whee!

I liked her first books, but they didn't make my must-read list. This one, though, just may have earned itself a spot... Particularly after I fear that my beloved Looking Glass Wars books may have fallen off the list with Arch Enemy... but that's another blog post all together! Happy reading!

Being a Grown-Up is Overrated

So, over Christmas Break, I tried reading some grown-up books. And let me just say, being a grown-up is overrated.

Sure, they were good. But, short of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol, they weren't exactly addicting (as any good YA fantasy book will turn out to be) and they were depressing. I read Push, which the movie Precious is based on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5FYahzVU44

Wow. I mean, it was a crazy powerful book. I read the entire thing during a car ride from Ohio to home after Christmas. And I'm sure I absolutely drove my bf crazy because, like a good YA fan, he was devoutly listening to "Uncle Jim" read HP 5. And I kept hitting the "off" button to say, "You will not believe this," or "this is unreal!" and reading him sections of Push. But holy crap was it sad. And while it has an inspiring and uplifting message, fact is, it was still horrifying. Because you KNOW stuff like that happens in real life. Worth reading, but definitely not the same as a geeky guilty pleasure fix.

Right before that, I read The Time Traveller's Wife. Going into the holidays, I thought, hmm... maybe I should try some adult fantasy romance instead of geeky YA. And, it was a good book. But gritty, and painful , and although you see it coming and everyone in the world says, "It's sad, but SO good," well, it's sad. And for me, that sad was hard to get past.

You see, I think why I love YA fantasy books so much is because, frankly, I live in the real world. I work in a tough field, I've had my share of real-life problems and I've watched others go through so many more. When I read a book, I want to escape. To go somewhere the problems CAN'T be real. While I would love to actually live at Hogwarts (I think I'd be an excellent candidate for the post of Muggle Studies Professor), it's not like I'm truly concerned about Voldie popping up in my daily life. But the emotional struggles in "grown-up" books, no matter how far-fetched the book's plot, well, I would rather ponder the eternal struggle of good and evil than abuse or poverty or fertility or heartbreak or loss. No thanks. I'll deal with real-life's problems as they come and when I inevitably have to as a real-life grown-up. But in the mean-time, I'll happily read about my fantasty world's where the problems are real enough to make you can, but not real enough to haunt you in everyday life. Example? Grace's love of werewolf Sam and the perils of the pack's survival a la Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, which I'm half-way through and thoroughly enjoying (review to come).

And if you must read a grown-up book, I suggest the aforementioned The Lost Symbol. The audio version is great, and I'm loving the narrator. Totally worth the CADL wait (I believe I was 110th in line when I signed up for it months ago). It keeps me engaged and wanting more on CD, so I'm certain the written form is a page-turner. If you liked any of Brown's other books (The DaVinci Code or Angels and Demons) you'll enjoy this one, and if you haven't tried him yet, I'm finding this book much more accessible and way less religion-y than The DaVinci Code. So, maybe being a grown-up isn't ALL bad!