The Summer Reading Wrap-Up!

I know what you're all dying to know: Did she do it? Did she really read all those books?

Weeeelllll . . .

First of all, I kinda wish I'd put the deadline at Labor Day, instead of September 1st. So let's all pretend that's what it was, okay?

Okay!

Second of all, YES! YES I DID! I OWN THAT LIST, BABY! BOO YAH! Not only that, but I also read a couple of extras that came up, and finished a couple of books that I was reading aloud to Boy. Not only that, but I also managed to write almost two hundred pages in Ye Olde Romania Manuscript, which I so excited about that I can't stand it! It's going to be so good, you're all going to achieve Nirvana when you read it. Pinky swear.

So here is the list, in order, of books read this summer.

1. I Am Not A Serial Killer, Dan Wells
2. Under Heaven, Guy Gavriel Kay
3. Three Tales of My Father's Dragon, Ruth Stiles Gannett (read to Boy)
4. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Grace Lin
5. Charles and Emma, Deborah Heiligman
6. Stories, Neil Gaiman, Al Sarrantonio, editors
7. The Monstrumologist, Rick Yancey
8. The Sapphire Flute, Karen E. Hoover
9. When You Reach Me, Rebecca Stead
10. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Stieg Larsson
11. Mr. Wilmer, Robert Lawson (read to Boy, one of my all-time faves)
12. Some Girls, Jillian Lauren
13. Dead Until Dark, Charlaine Harris
14. Low Red Moon, Ivy Devlin
15. Living Dead in Dallas, Charlaine Harris
16. Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone, Dene Low
17. Club Dead, Charlaine Harris
18. Dead to the World, Charlaine Harris
19. Before I Fall, Lauren Oliver
20. Dead As A Doornail, Charlaine Harris
21. Definitely Dead, Charlaine Harris
22. Fangbone!, Michael Rex
23. All Together Dead, Charlaine Harris
24. Incarceron, Catherine Fisher
25. Girl in the Arena, Lise Haines
26. Hearts at Stake, Alyxandra Harvey
27. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith
28. Brightly Woven, Alexandra Bracken
29. From Dead to Worse, Charlaine Harris
30. Dead and Gone, Charlaine Harris
31. Sovay, Celia Rees
32. The Thirteen Clocks, James Thurber (read to Boy)
33. Dead in the Family, Charlaine Harris
34. Magic Under Glass, Jaclyn Dolamore
35. Spells, Aprilynne Pike
36. Tears of the Giraffe, Alexander McCall Smith
37. Boneshaker, Cherie Priest
38. Saving Juliet, Suzanne Selfors
39. Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, J. K. Rowling (still reading to Boy)
40. Morality for Beautiful Girls, Alexander McCall Smith
41. Small Change: The Secret Life of Penny Burford, J. Belinda Yandell
42. The Kalahari Typing School for Men, Alexander McCall Smith
43. The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss
44. In the Company of Angels, David Farland

Now, if I had stopped at September 1st, I would have been halfway through The Name of the Wind, so even with my "extension" I don't think I did too shabby! Boy and I just finished reading about Harry's first shopping trip to Diagon Alley, and I'm about halfway through In the Company of Angels. I've also managed to take the kids swimming twice a week all summer, Boy started Kindergarten, and Mr. Mister and I took a weekend in Vegas. (It was hot, and smelly, and both of us were getting sick so we didn't want to eat anything. But the Cirque du Soleil "Love" show was amazing, thanks for asking!)

Now you're probably wondering, Are all these books worth my time? Should I try to be awesome and read them all, like Jessica?

No. Not everyone can be awesome as I am, and also, a couple of these books made me want to cry, and not in a good, cathartic way. BLEAH! But, as usual, my lips are sealed on which ones! (Sorry, I just don't want to use my blog to destroy another author's fragile ego.)

So what was the BEST?

Well:

I Am Not A Serial Killer. Under Heaven (of course). Where the Mountain Meets the Moon was delightful, especially for reading aloud, or younger readers. When You Reach Me was breathtaking. Before I Fall just broke my heart, and I loved it. Hearts at Stake is a must for vampire fans, or even teen romance fans. The Charlaine Harris books, though very much for adults, are more addictive than chocolate. Petronella Save Nearly Everyone will delight Wodehouse fans and Victorian buffs, and Incarceron is for the Hunger Games devotees. Boneshaker was so good I want to put a bow on it and call it Baby, and The Name of the Wind brought out a similar reaction. I have for several years had a "falling out" with grown up epic fantasy, which all seemed to be the same, and all seemed to be plotted using roleplaying game dice, notable exceptions are Sanderson's Mistborn books. Sanderson recommended that I try The Name of the Wind, and by golly, he was right! (Should I tell him?) Rothfuss' book is a big sprawling epic of awesomeness. Mr. Wilmer has been out of print for many decades, but is one of my all time favorites, and Boy loved it too. If you can find a copy somewhere, treasure it. It's about a man who, on his birthday, suddenly gains the ability to talk to animals, and is hired by a zoo. Mayhem and hilarity ensue, and the animal and human characters are fabulous. Fangbone was an ARC of an upcoming graphic novel that I scored, and will delight young boys, Three Tales of My Father's Dragon is an old book that is still in print for good reason: simple, fun, charming.

And right now, I'm deeply into The Company of Angels, and heartily agreeing with Dave Farland's mom: This may be his best book ever.