The second quarter of 2013 has come to an end. Half over. Or, if you are optimistic, still six good months to come! I can’t tell you which side I am on because I AM GETTING MARRIED IN SEVEN DAYS. I CANNOT EVEN FORM A COHERENT THOUGHT MUCH LESS A SENTENCE. I am also having trouble focusing on reading. Or packing. Or cleaning. Or anything.
I am assuming that once this is all over, I will regain control of my mental facilities and be ready to read another 50+ books. Fifty books! That’s so many! I could read fifty more FIVE STAR AWESOME books. I could re-read my favorites for six straight months! I could read only new releases, only award winners, or just read whatever I happen to want to read on any given day! I could just read the entire Songs of Fire and Ice series! (Let’s be honest, that is probably what I will do)
I’m sure some people feel this way about new recipes or restaurants, movies, vacations, video games. But there is just something special about being a reader, isn’t there? You get to have your life, the same everyday living that everyone gets, but then you have another life. A reading life. All yours to choose, story after story after story.
Lovely.
Here are the books I read in April, May, and June.
FIVE! STARS!
*****
Five star books rock my world, enter my personal canon, change my life. Likely re-reads for the duration of my existence. Flash bang. Excitement. Yay. Rah.
- The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
- A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
FOUR STARS!
****
Four star books are definitely excellent. Above Average. These are the books I will recommend to others without hesitation.
- The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg
- After Visiting Friends: A Son’s Journey by Michael Hainey
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
- Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets by Evan Roskos
- The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
- Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
- The Circle by Sara B. Elfgren and Mats Strandberg
Three Stars
Three star books are alright. Good. Middle of the road. Nothing special, but nothing worth throwing the book against the window either.
- Someday, Someday Maybe by Lauren Graham
- The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth Laban [review here]
- The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler
- Wonder by R.J. Palacio
- Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight
- Golden by Jessi Kirby
- Uses for Boys by Erica Lorraine Scheidt
- Winter’s Tide by Lisa Williams Kline
- Season of Change by Lisa Williams Kline
- Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley
- Overexposed by Susan J. Korman
- Home Front Girl by Joan Wehlen Morrison
- Firecracker by David Iserson
- Sketchy by Olivia Samms
Two stars
**
Two star books have issues. Writing or content. Books that make me roll my eyes and sad for the state of literature
- Janie Face to Face by Caroline B. Cooney
- The Year of Luminous Love by Lurlene McDaniel
- Legacy of the Clockwork Key by Kristin Bailey
- Life After Theft by Aprilynne Pike
one star
*
One star books make me say “HOW DID THIS BOOK COME TO BE?? WHY, GOD, WHY??”
- Andrew Jenks: My Adventures as a Young Filmmaker by Andrew Jenks