Summer Book List (take II)

("Summer" having technically started on Friday, May 4th)

READ:

A Discovery of Witches

Percy Jackson: TheLightning Thief

A Well Timed Enchantment

Heir Apparent

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
Hunter’s Moon
Library Wars (vol 1-6)
Divergent

READING:

Wildwood Dancing

PLANNING TO READ:

Shadow of Night

Percy Jackson: The Titans Curse

Percy Jackson: The Battle of the Labyrinth

Percy Jackson: The Last Olympian
Ender's game
Trickster's Choice

More…?

(I promise that there is actual homework getting done, too....)


(Edit 8/04/12 for book reviews):

I keep liking the Percy Jackson Stories. The characters (like in "Sea of Monsters") have diverse personality traits, but aren't perfect--as is evident in this tale where they discuss heroes' fatal flaws.

"Hunter's Moon" (rec by Katie) takes place in Ireland and is about Faeries. Two things that are sure-fire ways to get me interested in a story. This one had enough twists but also kept the plot neat, with few (if any) gaps.

Ohh, where would a summer be with out manga. the story in "Library Wars" almost seems like a precursor to "Fahrenheit 451" in that the censorship/destruction of books is enforced by the national government, and only only the local authority of each library branch with their trained fighters stand to protect the public's right to read! (aaaaand of course there's a love interest~) >;3

Wow. "Divergent". So, I kind of want to read it again already! (rec by my sister) It's a dystopian that has been recommended to people who liked "The Hunger Games" books (which I can understand, given that the city is divided into different factions... but then again, so is Hogwarts....hm, for a generation that claims to want to defy labels and categories, we certainly seek the comfort of them often enough...). It really made me think about fear, though, in a way I haven't before (as more of a concept than something to go to lengths to avoid and ignore).

The Hills are Alive

They went off on an excursion this past Saturday, to the historic little town of Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. And while the heat threatened to smother Our Fair Adventurer and her Father and Step Mother, she would not be daunted to climb the bridges, inclining streets, and steps that found their way around and made up this delightful town nestled on the point of land where the Potomac and the Shenandoah rivers merged.

They arrived early, and walked around as street cafes unfurled umbrellas to shade tables and shops placed chalked signs outside their doors to entice passersby inside. Her Step Mother knows a lot about early American history, and was telling her about the conflict that occurred in this town due to the Civil War. Civil War re-enactors casually strolled about or set up little stall laden with artifacts from the town’s past life. Because of its location, there were old lock systems and rail road tracks that spoke of a time when this place must have been thriving in its connectivity.

It’s also a stop on the Appalachian Trail, so many adventurous souls were coming and going with pack filled to the brim with supplies. And four-footed companions happily trotting alongside making her wish there was a certain black lab+german shepherd exuberantly beside her…

There was a wistfulness about her actions, as she usually feels in places such as this that are steeped with historical potency. Not even saying much, she was content to scamper about the overlook gazing at the shifting rapids below and the stacks of trees layering the mountains, watching the steeples rising out of the hills.

There, a murder of crows lazes about a small island; there, stone remains seem to mirror those on the Anduin near the Argonath becoming over grown and yet still splendid. Light-footed, she hops up the eroded stone steps to view Black Rock and crest of mountains on the farther shore.

All in all, a successful flight for this little bird~

Summer Book List

("Summer" having technically started on Friday, May 4th)

READ:

A Discovery of Witches

Percy Jackson: TheLightning Thief

A Well Timed Enchantment

Heir Apparent

READING:

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

PLANNING TO READ:

Hunter’s Moon

Wildwood Dancing

Shadow of Night

Percy Jackson: The Titans Curse

Percy Jackson: The Battle of the Labyrinth

Percy Jackson: The Last Olympian

More…?

(Edit 8/04/12 to include book reviews):

This was my second go at "A Discovery of Witches" and I still love how engaging of a read it is. I can't wait until I finally get to read the sequel "Shadow of Night"!

I'd always been curious about the Percy Jackson series, and so now that I have an eReader and the JDL allows online checkouts for eBooks, I'm going to finally read them! I was delightfully surprised how entertaining the first installment, "The Lightning Thief", was even though the main characters are only about 12. They've sucked me in, and I want to keep reading more~

"A Well Timed Enchantment" was suggested by a friend who's also read Trickster's Choice--so the cat-turned-boy was an interesting character. Not my favorite story, though.

"Heir Apparent" makes me appreciate how great it is that if I get frustrated at a video game, I can walk away ^^;;

We Now Return to Your Regularly Scheduled Program (Sort of...)

*sneaks back in, looks around all shifty-like*

Well, isn’t this place just great? Not like it’s gathering dust by accident or neglect or anything. Ha ha…ha…..ha….hmmm.

In regards to the past year, let’s just say she made it through by the grace of God with some interesting highlights along the way that she was sooo busy living she didn’t have time to record anything~

She escaped the jaws of the university and is ready to set out on another summer vacation—complete with three months [away from/at her other] home. But before she left, she and her professional-concert-attending friend were finally able to see her favorite band in concert: Deas Vail~

Aaaaand make a substantial dent in the awesome new addition to the “Tales of ___” series: Tales of Graces;

(Picture from here)

Where every character is actually pretty awesome and doesn’t have a dumb/useless fighting style. There was much victory and celebratory eating to be had ;3 The Hungry Hippos were content as cats~

Between excessive reading, café lurking, and scavenger hunting in Ye Olde College Town with her mother, it didn’t seem like much time passed until she was off to the east; where four-footed, furry friends are content to stay by your side or nap the day away.

Now she’s working through her summer schoolwork (self-imposed and credited studying), reading even more (list will shortly follow), brushing up on her cartoon friends from the four elemental nations, and talking comics with her sister~

And these are only the first few days  ;3