Showing posts with label 2013 reading list. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2013 reading list. Show all posts

Six Young Adult Books I Can't Wait to Read

Thursday, May 23, 2013


I'm not ashamed to admit how much I'm enjoying reading young adult and teen fiction. I think there's a creativity and story variety that isn't present in 'grown up' books.

Do you read the online op ed section, Room For Debate, from The New York Times? About a year ago, several writers weighed in on the topic of adults who read teen fiction. The opinions were predictably varied. I 100% agree with author Patricia McCormick's statement:
"Authors who write for young adults are taking creative risks -- with narrative structure, voice and social commentary -- that you just don’t see as often in the more rarefied world of adult fiction."
You said it, sister. Also, I have only given up on a young adult book once. I started The Book Thief and couldn't get into it, but I'm much more willing to give it a second chance than I would some of the grown up books I've tossed aside (I Know This Much is True, Slammerkin, Freedom, The Year We Left Home).

Plus, it's been a good way for Tyler and I to connect. We've read some of the same titles and he trusts my book suggestions more than he used to. I've got six young adults books on my never-gets-shorter Want To Read list. Three are conclusions to trilogies.

Six Young Adult Book Suggestions

The Fault in Our Stars  by John Green (out now)
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (out now)
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (out now)
Allegiant (from the Divergent series) by Veronica Roth (expected October 2013, last in trilogy)

I will say I liked Divergent more than Insurgent but both are good. Tyler is reading this with me so I'd say this series is good for ages 10 and up. I read both books before him just to be sure.

Reached (from the Matched series) by Ally Condie (out now, last in a trilogy)

Again, I liked the first book better than the second but I really want to know how all the plot lines wrap up. This is also good for 10 and up. I think Tyler would enjoy it if he could get past the romance. There is a love triangle and relationship between two characters with kissing but not intense kissing.

Dreams of Gods and Monsters, the conclusion to Daughter of Smoke & Bone (from the series of the same name) by Laini Taylor (out now)

Here's one where I liked both the first and second equally. I was all set to let Tyler get started on these until I got to the middle of the second book, Days of Blood and Starlight. There's a relationship with the lead characters and there's more descriptive intimacy than I think he's ready for. I'd say this is better for 15 and up.

Certainly some themes are better left to an adult audience but the young adult books I've read are something grown up books rarely are: fun. There's a difference between a quick, mindless read like the Sookie Stackhouse books and one that is really fun to read. It's rare that I've been so excited to sit down and read all day as I was on the Harry Potter release days.

Another Room for Debate contributor, Lev Grossman, also summed up my feelings about YA when he said:
"Bottom line, there's one thing that young adult novels rarely are, and that's boring. They're built to grab your attention and hold it. And I'm not as young as I once was. At my age, I don't have time to be bored.
Preach. There's room on my bookshelves for all kinds of reads. As long as young adult authors are creating such captivating reads, I'll be in line to buy them.


What are your thought on YA books? 
Leave your favorite title in the comments! 

*Affiliate links used, tablet image from freedigitalimages.net

40 Books in 12 Months - I Can Do It!

Monday, April 22, 2013

So, I did something that may end up being really awesome or really dumb. I set a goal for myself to read 40 books by the end of December. I love to read so I'm pretty sure I can pull this off. I'm a little bit ahead of the pace Goodreads says I should be on.


Hopefully I'll remember to do at least short reviews of all the books here on the site, but if I don't you can always follow me on Goodreads to at least see my star ratings. I'm always on the lookout for new titles and authors to add to my To Be Read Pile. If you've come across anything good lately let me know!

See the titles I've read so far in my 2013 reading list
 

2013 Reading Challenge

2013 Reading Challenge
Melanie has read 13 books toward her goal of 40 books.
hide
Image from Google Images

2013 Reading List

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Welcome to my reading list for 2013! I'm terrible at remembering to do reviews in part because I read really fast. I set a goal for myself to read 40 books this year and I'm on track to possibly go even higher. I'd love to know if you've read any of these titles and how you liked the book.

In mostly chronological order:

January
At Home With the Templetons - Monica McInerney
The Shoemaker's Wife - Adriana Trigiani
The Last Time I Saw You - Elizabeth Berg

February
Divergent - Veronica Roth
The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott - Kelly O'Connor McNees
Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor
The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton

March
A Grown Up Kind of Pretty - Joshilyn Jackson
Days of Blood and Starlight - Laini Taylor 
When in Doubt Add Butter - Beth Harbison

April
Patty Jane's House of Curl - Lorna Landvik
Nearlyweds - Beth Kendrick
Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay
The View From Mount Joy - Lorna Landvik

May
The Panther - Nelson DeMille
The Lion - Nelson DeMille
Tall Pine Polka - Lorna Landvik

June 
Notorious Nineteen - Janet Evanovich 

July 
Tapestry of Fortunes - Elizabeth Berg
Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
Sisterland - Curtis Sittenfeld
Dead Ever After - Charlaine Harris 
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs

August
The Weird Sisters - Eleanor Brown
The Engagements - Courtney J Sullivan

September
Reached - Ally Condie
The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
The Tao of Martha - Jen Lancaster 
Where We Belong - Emily Giffin 

October 
Life After Life - Jill McCorkle
Let's Pretend This Never Happened - Jenny Lawson

November 
Wedding Night - Sophie Kinsella 
One Mississippi - Mark Childress

 
copyright melanie sheridan 2009 template design by Studio Mommy (© copyright 2015)